European rugby secures TV deal at last but fans will foot bill

English supporters will require two television subscriptions to follow club rugby next season after Investec Champions Cup organisers struck a three-year broadcasting deal with Premier Sports, which plans to launch a dedicated rugby channel and schedule games for 5.30pm on a Sunday.
The Times revealed in May that European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) had turned down an offer from TNT Sports (previously BT Sport), which broadcasts the Gallagher Premiership and has been the home of the Champions Cup since 2017. TNT walked away from talks and subsequently invested in the rights to show November internationals.
Premier Sports already broadcasts the United Rugby Championship and the French Top 14. Its exclusive deal with EPCR will end the Champions Cup’s regular presence on free-to-air television. ITV have been broadcasting one match per round for the past two seasons.
EPCR’s contract with Premier Sports contains a clause that the final can be broadcast or streamed without a paywall in order to “maximise exposure”. But regular coverage on a mainstream channel was sacrificed by EPCR as it chased the best possible financial deal from a weak negotiating position.
Premier Sports says a subscription will be £10.99 per month, although special offers are likely.
“Delivering money back to the clubs was at the heart of our tough negotiations,” Jacques Raynaud, the EPCR chief executive, said.
The Champions Cup organisers also cited scheduling issues. EPCR was unhappy that last season’s showpiece final between Toulouse and Leinster was bumped from ITV1 to ITV4 after police brought forward the kick-off time of the FA Cup final.
EPCR and Premier Sports plan to schedule matches involving English clubs to avoid clashes with Premier League football, which is broadcast on Sky Sports and TNT. That will mean early evening matches on a Sunday. It could also lead to the Champions Cup final being moved to avoid the FA Cup final.
“Needless to say we were not happy with the clash with the FA Cup last year,” Raynaud said. “We were not particularly pleased with some clashes with Premier League football, which is kind of dominant in the UK.
“One of the first innovations we have done with Premier Sports is reopening the very important 5.30pm Sunday night slot, which is outside of the crowded football zone. It will feature some big clashes and big highlights.
“This is one of the examples of Premier Sports having more flexibility than other more crowded broadcasters to really make it a marquee offering at better times so subscribers do not have to choose between a big football match and a marquee rugby game.”
EPCR presented its deal with Premier Sports as an opportunity to “grow the game” — but in the same breath admitted it faces a challenge to persuade English rugby supporters.
“This is the result of a very competitive process we’ve been running in the last month and which ended in Premier Sports winning it based on three criteria: growing the game, finances for the club and viewership and sponsorship exposure,” Raynaud said.
“The launch of a rugby channel was a very important tipping point for Premier Sports winning the race.
“I accept that for an English rugby fan there will be a change in habits. I think we have chosen a provider with a fantastic offering, a very affordable subscription. I am hoping we will convince hundreds of thousands to add this on [to their package].”
The new dedicated rugby channel will broadcast all 63 Champions Cup matches plus two Challenge Cup games per round and knockout games from the second-tier competition.
Premier Sports will present itself as the “home of rugby”. The arrival of a second broadcaster into rugby could ultimately boost the ailing rights market. Premiership Rugby signed a two-year extension with TNT Sports in March that was worth less than the previous deal, partly because the league was reduced from 13 to ten clubs but also because there was no competition.