Premiership Rugby signs new long-term broadcast deal with TNT Sports
TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland will continue to be the home of English domestic rugby after agreeing new long-term deals with Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR).
The multi-year agreements will enable TNT Sports to continue utilising best-in-class production, unrivalled on-air expertise via some of the most respected voices in the sport as well as leveraging cross-promotional opportunities that have helped yield record audience numbers for both Gallagher Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby over the past 12 months.
Replicating the existing agreement between the two parties, every single match from the Gallagher Premiership Rugby season – including the Play-Offs and Final - will be broadcast live on TNT Sports’ linear channels or its streaming platform discovery+ until the end of the 2030/31 season. Select matches from the Premiership Rugby Cup will also be shown on TNT Sports.
In a further win for sports fans, TNT Sports or its streaming platform discovery+, will show at least one match from every Premiership Women’s Rugby round each season – including both Semi-Finals and Final - until the end of the 2028/29 season, meaning viewers will be able to watch some of the finest rugby players in the world – including England’s title-winning Guinness Women’s Six Nations Red Roses stars - week in, week out. TNT Sports will broadcast the top pick in every round.
Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “TNT Sports is proud to cement its position as the home of men’s and women’s domestic rugby, providing fans with certainty on where they can watch every moment of every match of Premiership Rugby and extensive coverage of Premiership Women’s Rugby.
“There is no doubt the quality of both competitions continues to improve each season and we are convinced the changes being mooted by Premiership Rugby, together with the strength of our production and on-air team, that we can continue to grow viewership and attendance over the next five seasons. Furthermore, we are absolutely thrilled to continue to bring Premiership Women’s Rugby to rugby fans that know TNT Sports is the home of club rugby and believe this is also the best way to continue to promote and grow the women’s game.”
Simon Massie-Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Premiership Rugby, said: “Our recent partnership with TNT Sports has helped drive record audiences and attract a million new fans to the Gallagher Premiership, alongside drawing record crowds and a second sold-out final in a row.
“Our clubs have worked hard to establish the Gallagher Premiership as a compelling competition with high-quality entertaining rugby, and TNT Sports have embraced the challenge to continue to innovate to help grow the sport and their output has been first class.
“This extended partnership allows both parties to invest in the long-term growth of the Gallagher Premiership and we are very excited about the future.”
Genevieve Shore, Executive Chair, Premiership Women’s Rugby, said: "The extension of our partnership with TNT Sports is a huge step forward for Premiership Women's Rugby. Showcasing a live match every weekend for the next four years means our incredible athletes will be seen by more fans than ever before, giving them the platform they deserve and inspiring the next generation of players."
"We’re thrilled to be working with a broadcaster that shares our vision for the future of the women’s game, and this deal is a powerful vote of confidence in the strength, skill, and excitement that define Premiership Women’s Rugby and its athletes.
“The huge rise in viewing figures last season shows the potential of PWR, and together with TNT Sports, we will continue to grow women’s rugby.”
This season TNT Sports continues to engage record numbers of fans through its coverage of Gallagher Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby.
TNT Sports recorded two of its top five ever linear TV audiences this season. After 13 rounds of the 24/25 season Gallagher Premiership Rugby average audiences are up +11% vs 23/24 and +24% vs 22/23 seasons while TNT Sports’ live-to-live scheduling strategy has seen Saturday afternoon PRL matches drive a +39% rise in audiences when directly following a Premier League football match vs weeks with no EPL lead-in.
Premiership Women’s Rugby audiences, meanwhile, rose 156% following November’s Autumn Nation Series. March’s PWR Grand Final, which saw holders Gloucester-Hartpury overcome Saracens 34-19, drove a 36% increase in average audience vs the 2024 final, contributing to an 86% year-on-year increase in season average audiences on TNT Sports.
Coverage of Gallagher Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby on TNT Sports supplements an unrivalled portfolio of world-class rugby that includes the Autumn Nations Series as well as the HSBC SVNS Series.
TNT Sports, which transitioned from BT Sport as part of the Joint Venture between Warner Bros. Discovery and BT in September 2022, has been the primary broadcast partner of Premiership Rugby since 2013.
