The Rugby Broadcast Report Issue 21: Rugby TV Guide & Media Rights News - Record-Breaking Rugby Viewership on TNT Sports
Never miss a game
Welcome to the Rugby Broadcast Report, a weekly newsletter covering the weekend’s televised rugby action and the latest developments in rugby media rights.
After a weekend of controversial red cards, aerial bombardments and some top class rugby, the autumn internationals continue this weekend with some exciting fixtures coming up, including Ireland v South Africa (Saturday, 5:40pm) and England v Argentina (Sunday, 4:10pm).
It has been a busy week on the media rights front – with record-breaking viewership for TNT Sports’ rugby coverage and a new Top 14 streaming service going live – more on these stories below.
The Top 14, now available to watch globally, returns this weekend – with four matches live on Premier Sports, including Stade Français v Toulon in the hugely popular 8:05pm Sunday night slot.
Across the weekend fans can also watch coverage of Super Rugby Cymru, Ulster A v Connacht Eagles, Rugby Europe Trophy and a number of other internationals.
Irish and UK kick-off and broadcast details for all televised games are listed below.*
Fixture of the weekend (admittedly biased)
Can a Rassie Erasmus coached South African side finally overcome Ireland in Dublin for the first time? This Test match should be a cracker, with Andy Farrell’s Ireland hoping to build on last week’s record win over the Australians.
Quilter Nations Series: Ireland v South Africa
Kick-off: Saturday, 5:40pm Irish & UK time / 7:40pm SA time
TV: RTÉ 2 & Player / TNT Sports 1 & 2 / discovery+ / NOW
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Verdict: Ireland by 3
Growing the game
Former referee Nigel Owens’ tweet below highlights something that I mentioned in last week’s newsletter – URC CEO Martin Anayi noted recently that there is an on-going effort to convince broadcasters that allowing content creators (albeit in the case below World Rugby) to use video clips benefits the game as a whole, and ultimately can lead to an increase in subscribers to such broadcasters. On the other hand, of course, broadcasters pay huge sums of money for such rights so from their perspective, allowing such use devalues the broadcast rights.
Quote of the week
We are not comfortable incurring significant deficits but had been prepared to do so in the expectation of material improvements in future broadcasting renewals. Such improvements have not occurred thus far, and we therefore have commenced a review of our programmes and all our expenditure, as long-term financial sustainability is a key priority for the Union. During the year we announced the closing of the Men’s Sevens programme, and our efficiency review is ongoing; furthermore, each province has initiated a similar review.
This week’s quote is courtesy of the IRFU’s honorary treasurer Patrick Kennedy, which was included in the Union’s financial statements for the 2024-2025 season (available here).
Mr. Kennedy’s remarks are a reminder that the value of rugby broadcasting rights has stagnated in recent years, with few exceptions (such as the latest Top 14 broadcast deal). It is clear that the lack of material improvement in broadcasting revenues has forced the IRFU into cost-cutting measures, with the closing of the Men’s Sevens programme a clear example of this.
On a positive note, the IRFU has reduced its operating deficit to €4.2 million, down from €18.4 million in the previous year. The Union also noted that the newly launched Nations Championship is “expected to provide improved financial stability over the next decade.”
Men’s RWC 2027 teams finalised
The broadcast number
27% – the percentage increase in the peak audience compared to last year’s record high, which was set during George Ford’s 75th-minute penalty in England’s QNS fixture against New Zealand on TNT Sports.
Picture-in-picture adverts are coming
Rugby media rights news
Record-breaking viewership: TNT Sports revealed this week that England’s QNS Test match against the All Blacks last weekend attracted a 27% rise in peak audience numbers, compared to last season’s record high. The broadcaster also noted that no single rugby union fixture has ever reached a wider audience on TNT Sports, achieving a 7% increase and volumes of streaming subscribers up 32% against its previous-best rugby audience. The broadcaster continues to attract football fans, with 22% of TNT Sports’ Premier League and Champions League viewers from this season also watching this year’s QNS.
The LNR has launched a new global direct-to-consumer streaming service, Top 14 Rugby TV. The service is available primarily in territories without a local broadcaster, such as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. As part of the announcement, the LNR confirmed that 11 broadcast partnerships covering 90 territories are in place for the 2025-2026 season. I’ll be publishing a piece on this later today.
As some readers may have noticed, the PREM Rugby Cup fixture between Gloucester and Bath was streamed live on YouTube on Friday night – which was a first for the PREM Cup. Leicester v Northampton will also be shown live on YouTube this Friday at 7:30pm.
ITV will trial picture-in-picture adverts during live play in the 2026 Six Nations for the first time. Such adverts are common-place in certain counties, notably the United and South Africa but such adverts will be new to many rugby fans in the UK.
Broadcast production company Whisper has won the Editor’s Choice award for the production of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 at the Broadcast Sport Awards that were held last week. As noted in a previous issue of the Rugby Broadcast Report, Whisper has partnered with PREM Rugby this season.
The BBC has secured broadcast rights for the three URC Welsh derbies over Christmas. This is a new agreement that ensures fans will have FTA coverage of the fixtures, while Premier Sports will also broadcast each match live.
The fixtures for the new Nations Championship have been announced, which will involve 12 teams from around the world on a biennial basis. The tournament begins in July 2026 and negotiations are still underway for a broadcaster in Ireland and the UK, with multiple media sources stating that TNT Sports will secure the rights. It is unclear what impact the broadcast deal will have on SANZAAR TV rights, which have yet to confirmed for Ireland and the UK from next year. In previous years, Sky has shown summer fixtures involving Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales against SANZAAR teams such New Zealand and Australia. However, it seems increasingly likely that such rights will no longer be part of the SANZAAR deal.
Here’s your full TV guide for this weekend’s action:
Friday 21 November
3:00pm – Ulster A v Connacht Eagles Ulster Rugby TV
7:30pm – Leicester v Northampton (PREM Rugby Cup) – YouTube
7:30pm – Harlequins v Scarlets (Friendly) – YouTube
7:30pm – Newport v Cardiff (Super Rugby Cymru) – S4C Clic / YouTube
8:00pm – Bordeaux v Pau (Top 14) – Premier Sports 2 & Online / NOW
Saturday 22 November
12:00pm – Poland v Czechia (Rugby Europe Trophy) – Rugby Europe TV
12:00pm – Georgia v Japan (International) – Premier Sports Rugby & Online / Unavailable live in Ireland
1:30pm – Lyon v Clermont (Top 14) – Premier Sports 2 & Online / NOW
3:00pm – Romania v Uruguay (International) – RugbyPass TV
3:10pm – Wales v New Zealand (Quilter Nations Series) – S4C / BBC iPlayer / TNT Sports 1 & 2 / discovery+ / NOW
3:35pm – Racing 92 v Bayonne (Top 14) – Premier Sports 2 & Online / NOW
4:00pm – Spain v Fiji (International) – RugbyPass TV
4:00pm – Portugal v Canada (International) – RugbyPass TV
5:40pm – Ireland v South Africa (Quilter Nations Series) – RTÉ 2 & Player / TNT Sports 1 & 2 / discovery+ / NOW
8:10pm – Italy v Chile (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 2 / discovery+ / NOW
8:10pm – France v Australia (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
Sunday 23 November
1:40pm – Scotland v Tonga (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
4:10pm – England v Argentina (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
8:05pm – Stade Français v Toulon (Top 14) – Premier Sports 2 & Online / NOW
Useful links
YouTube (Pro D2)
YouTube (URC – UK only)
Clubber TV (Champ)
YouTube (PWR)
YouTube (Super Rugby Cymru)
Rugby Europe TV (Various matches)
Inside Rugby with Mark
A special thanks to Mark this week for his shoutout in his preview video last weekend. Check out his YouTube channel here.
Final thoughts
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*TV guide subject to change. The website version of this newsletter will be updated if required.