The Rugby Broadcast Report Issue 9: TV Guide June 28-29
Never miss a game
Welcome to the latest issue of the Rugby Broadcast Report, covering this weekend’s fixtures and the latest rugby media rights news.
It’s a blockbuster weekend of rugby to close out June. The Top 14 Final headlines the action as last year’s finalists Toulouse and Bordeaux go head-to-head once again for the title. The Lions play their first game of this year’s tour on Australian soil as they face the Western Force.
Across the Atlantic, the MLR Final kicks off on Saturday as the Free Jacks take on the SaberCats. Meanwhile, an exciting Barbarians side take on the Springboks, Japan XV play the Māori All Blacks and the opening round of the World Rugby U20 Championship starts on Sunday.
Irish and UK kick-off times and broadcast details for all games are listed below.
Fixture of the weekend (admittedly biased)
Top 14 final: Toulouse v Bordeaux
Kick-off: 8:05pm IRL & UK / 9:05pm local
TV: Premier Sports 1 / NOW / TV5MONDE
Venue: Stade de France
Undoubtedly the fixture of the weekend, if not one of the fixtures of the season and a repeat of last year's final. It’s safe to say that Bordeaux will be seeking revenge after last year’s 59-3 thrashing against the same opposition.
Things are different this time. Bordeaux are now European champions and are welcoming back superstar Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Verdict: Bordeaux.
Toulouse: R. Neti, 2. J. Marchand, 3. D. Aldegheri, 4. J. Brennan, 5. T. Flament, 6. F. Cros, 7. J. Willis, 8. A. Jelonch, 9. P. Graou, 10. R. Ntamack, 11. B. Kinghorn, 12. S. Chocobares, 13. P. Barassi, 14. J. Mallía, 15. T. Ramos. Replacements: 16. G. Cramont, 17. C. Baille, 18. E. Meafou, 19. L. Banos, 20. N. Saito, 21. P. Ahki, 22. M. Lebel, 23. J. Merkler.
Bordeaux: J. Poirot, 2. M. Lamothe, 3. B. Tameifuna, 4. G. Petti, 5. C. Cazeaux, 6. M. Gazzotti, 7. P. Bochaton, 8. P. Samu, 9. M. Lucu, 10. M. Jalibert, 11. L. Bielle-Biarrey, 12. Y. Moefana, 13. N. Depoortère, 14. D. Penaud, 15. R. Buros. Replacements: 16. C. Sa, 17. M. Perchaud, 18. J. Gray, 19. B. Vergnes-Taillefer, 20. A. Retière, 21. J. Carbery, 22. R. Janse van Rensburg, 23. S. Falatea.
Quote of the week
“Streaming viewership metrics are a joke. On Sunday, I visited Amazon's homepage to buy some items, and their live stream of a NASCAR race was automatically playing on the page. Was I counted as a "viewer" as I stayed on the page shopping?”
– Dan Rayburn
In a recent post on LinkedIn, streaming media analyst Dan Rayburn pointed out that streaming figures cannot always be relied upon. His post is a timely reminder to always read the fine print: what counts as a viewer? How long were they watching? Were they watching live or on-demand? These are important questions to keep in mind when viewing figures are released.
Rugby media rights news
RugbyPass TV has launched a FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus in the UK. The channel is live now, with a US launch planned shortly. The U20s Championship kicks off this Sunday and all games will be broadcast live on RugbyPass TV. The broadcaster experienced streaming issues during the recent England XV v France XV game.
France’s public broadcaster France Télévisions has retained rights to the Six Nations through to 2029. It beat rival network TF1 to secure the deal.
BBC Wales and S4C will share coverage of Wales’ upcoming tour to Japan. BBC Wales will air the first game, while S4C will show the second.
The rights to the upcoming Nations Cup may be bundled with the British & Irish Lions Tour rights. This move could help attract a wider range of bidders, primarily Sky.
Sky Sports has launched a new three-part documentary titled Two Sides. It offers behind-the-scenes coverage of a uniquely challenging Lions Tour.
A record 973,000 average viewers (1.26M peak) watched the Premiership final between Bath and Leicester across TNT Sports and ITV1. This sets a new high for Premiership Rugby television audiences. TNT Sports viewership was up 15%, and ITV saw a 10% increase for the match. However, recent reports also highlight a drop in young viewers watching rugby in the UK.
The URC Grand Final drew an average live audience of 827,000 in home markets. This represents a 4% year-on-year increase, based on overnight figures. While 827,000 is the preliminary, total viewership is expected to rise. Last year's URC Grand Final attracted 1.1 million viewers across all platforms.
RTÉ will show the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup. More details to follow.
Strong viewing figures in Germany for the Lions v Argentina game have led ProSieben Maxx to commit to airing every Lions Tour match for free.
According to journalist Cian Tracey, Ireland’s games against Georgia and Portugal are expected to be shown on free-to-air TV.
Nielsen data shows the Super Rugby Final had the highest average audience on Sky Sport and Sky Open since 2016. However, total season viewership on those platforms dropped slightly to 2 million, down from nearly 2.1 million in 2024.
TV Guide June 28-29
Saturday 28 June
10:05am – Japan XV v Māori All Blacks (International) – RugbyPass TV / NZR+
11:00am – Western Force v Lions (B&I Lions Tour) – Sky Sports ME & Action / NOW
4:10pm – South Africa v Barbarians (International) – Sky Sports Action / NOW
7:00pm – Free Jacks v SaberCats (MLR) – Premier Sports 2 & Rugby / NOW / The Rugby Network
8:05pm – Toulouse v Bordeaux (Top 14) – Premier Sports 1 / NOW / TV5MONDE
Sunday 29 June
2:30pm – England U20 v Scotland U20 (U20s Championship) – RugbyPass TV
2:30pm – Australia U20 v South Africa U20 (U20s Championship) – RugbyPass TV
5:00pm – France U20 v Spain U20 (U20s Championship) – RugbyPass TV
5:00pm – Ireland U20 v Georgia U20 (U20s Championship) – RugbyPass TV
7:30pm – Argentina U20 v Wales U20 (U20s Championship) – RugbyPass TV
7:30pm – New Zealand U20 v Italy U20 (U20s Championship) – RugbyPass TV