The Rugby Broadcast Report Issue 20: Rugby TV Guide & Media Rights News - 246.7% Increase In FR-UK Subscribers

Never miss a game

Nov 13, 2025

Welcome to the Rugby Broadcast Report, a weekly newsletter covering the weekend’s televised rugby action and the latest developments in rugby media rights.

The autumn internationals continue this weekend, with plenty of exciting fixtures coming up including England v New Zealand (KO: Sat, 3:10pm) and Ireland v Australia (KO: Sat, 8:10pm).

In the media rights space, there is positive news on the free-to-air front for Champions Cup fans and URC CEO Martin Anayi provides insight on URC’s revenue growth – more on these stories below.

Across the weekend you can also watch Round 2 of the Final Qualification Tournament for the 2027 RWC, Spain v England A and of course more action from the QNS.

In addition, there is live coverage of the Pro D2, Champ Rugby, Rugby Europe Trophy & Conference, PWR, AIL, Women’s Scottish Premiership, PREM Rugby Cup and Ireland 20s v South Africa 20s to look forward to.

Irish and UK kick-off and broadcast details for all televised games are listed below.*

Fixture of the weekend (admittedly biased)

Steve Borthwick’s England side will attempt to overcome the All Blacks for the first time since 2012 and continue a 10 game winning streak. Can the All Blacks stay on course for a clean sweep of the Northern Hemispheres sides?
Quilter Nations Series: England v New Zealand
Kick-off: Saturday, 3:10pm Irish & UK time
TV: TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
Venue: Allianz Twickenham Stadium, London
Verdict: New Zealand by 5

Quote of the week

But, in many ways, a Sky takeover would help safeguard the future of FTA broadcasting in the UK and ensure a stronger commercial television and streaming ecosystem in the context of an increasingly global media industry.

ITV has confirmed that the free-to-air broadcaster is in talks with Sky about a potential takeover of its TV and streaming business and writing in SportsPro this week, editor Steve McCaskill argues that this potential acquisition could safeguard the future of FTA broadcasting in the UK. As traditional broadcasters continue to face increasing competition from major global streamers, a potential consolidation such as this would benefit both Sky and ITV, strengthening their position to compete with major players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Biggar continues to thrive on comms

The broadcast number

20.8K – the number of subscribers the FR-UK channel now has, up from around 6K in May 2025 when it first streamed a live Pro D2 game – an impressive 246.7% increase.

Rugby media rights news

In a recent interview with Champagne Rugby (link below), URC CEO Martin Anayi discussed everything from rugby video games to convincing broadcasters that content creators are not a threat. Anayi also elaborated on the commercial impact that the addition of the four main South African sides has had on the league, including a 70% increase in revenue in the first season of the URC. He also confirmed that South Africa is now the URC’s largest market. Here are a number of other highlights from the interview:
- Anayi claims that the URC is now on par with PREM Rugby from a revenue perspective.
- The URC’s three main sources of revenue are media mights, then sponsorship and and then ticketing (playoffs only).
- When asked about untapped revenue sources, Anayi noted that data licensing and brand licensing offer huge potential.
It has been confirmed that S4C has secured FTA coverage of select Champions Cup fixtures this season. The Welsh broadcaster will show the Round 1 clash between Scarlets and Bristol on December 6th and the Round 3 fixture between Scarlets and Pau on January 10th. As a reminder, Premier Sports will broadcast every Champions Cup fixture live this season in both Ireland and the UK, with no FTA coverage in Ireland.
New Zealand’s NPC competition broke multiple records in 2025, with total viewers up 9% to 1.46 million and total viewing hours up 29% compared to 2024. There was also a 6% increase in digital viewers and the final attracted the biggest audience for an NPC game in eight years. These figures are New Zealand specific and no viewing figures for the UK or Ireland have been released. Sky’s SANZAAR TV deal expired this year and no new agreement has been signed yet.
According to journalist Illtud Dafydd, last weekend’s QNS clash between France and South Africa attracted 6.24 million viewers on French TV, representing an impressive 34.6% of the audience share.

Thursday 13 November

1:00pm – Belgium v Brazil (RWC 2027 Qualifier) – RugbyPass TV
3:30pm – Samoa v Namibia (RWC 2027 Qualifier) – RugbyPass TV

Friday 14 November

7:30pm – Ireland 20s v South Africa 20s (International) – IrishRugby+
7:30pm –Bath v Gloucester (PREM Rugby Cup) – YouTube
7:35pm – Hillhead Jordanhill v Cartha (Scottish Women’s Premiership) – BBC ALBA / BBC iPlayer / YouTube
7:45pm – Bedford Blues v Caldy (Champ) – Clubber TV
7:45pm – Chinnor v London Scottish (Champ) – Clubber TV
7:45pm – Richmond v Hartpury (Champ) – Clubber TV

Saturday 15 November

12:00pm – Cyprus v Malta (Rugby Europe Conference) – Rugby Europe TV
12:00pm – Georgia v Canada (International) – Premier Sports 1 & Online (UK only) / Unavailable live in Ireland
12:00pm – Denmark v Lithuania (Rugby Europe Trophy) – Rugby Europe TV
12:40pm – Italy v South Africa (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 3 / discovery+ / NOW
1:00pm – Cornish Pirates v Cambridge (Champ) – Clubber TV
1:00pm – Coventry v Ampthill (Champ) – Clubber TV
2:30pm – Old Belvedere v Lansdowne (AIL) – YouTube
3:00pm – Terenure v St Mary’s (AIL) – IrishRugby+ / YouTube
3:00pm – Portugal v Hong Kong China (International) – RugbyPass TV
3:00pm – Romania v USA (International) – RugbyPass TV
3:00pm – Gloucester-Hartpury Women v Sale Sharks Women (PWR) – YouTube
3:00pm – Saracens Women v Leicester Tigers Women (PWR) – YouTube
3:00pm – Ealing Women v Bristol Bears Women (PWR) – BBC iPlayer / BBC Red Button / Unavailable live in Ireland
3:00pm – Worcester Warriors v Nottingham (Champ) – Clubber TV
3:10pm – England v New Zealand (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
4:00pm – Spain v England A (International) – RugbyPass TV
5:00pm – Old Belvedere v Ballincollig (Women’s AIL) – YouTube
5:40pm – Wales v Japan (Quilter Nations Series) – S4C / BBC iPlayer / TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
7:15pm – Czechia v Sweden (Rugby Europe Trophy) – Rugby Europe TV
8:10pm – Ireland v Australia (Quilter Nations Series) – RTÉ 2 & Player / TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
8:10pm – France v Fiji (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 2 / discovery+ / NOW

Sunday 16 November

12:30pm – Exeter Chiefs Women v Harlequins Women (PWR) – TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
3:00pm – Ealing Trailfinders v Doncaster (Champ) – Clubber TV
3:10pm – Scotland v Argentina (Quilter Nations Series) – TNT Sports 1 / discovery+ / NOW
8:00pm – Vannes v Grenoble (Pro D2) – YouTube

Final thoughts

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*TV guide subject to change. The website version of this newsletter will be updated if required.

The Rugby Broadcast Report

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