Premiership Rugby, the organising body for the top division of club rugby union in England, has signed a new international rights deal with the RDA TV agency and multinational telco Altice.
The five-season agreement will run from 2016-17 to 2020-21. It includes the top-tier domestic Premiership and the Premiership Rugby 7s tournament in all markets outside the UK, Ireland and the United States.
Altice will broadcast Premiership Rugby content on its Ma Chaîne Sport television platform in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Switzerland and sub-Saharan Africa.RDA TV will distribute Premiership rights to broadcasters globally outside of these territories.
Premiership Rugby’s international rights are currently held by the Pitch International agency under a three-season agreement, signed in May 2013, from 2013-14 to 2015-16.
Dominic Hayes, commercial director of Premiership Rugby, said: “We conducted a very competitive, transparent and wide-ranging bid process and received incredibly strong interest from agencies and broadcasters around the world. This is a testament to the ongoing growth of Aviva Premiership Rugby on the global stage. The competition is currently on air in almost 150 countries and we look forward to seeing this broadcast footprint continue to strengthen.”
Richard Dennis, managing director of RDA TV, added: “Premiership Rugby has grown massively in the UK in the last few years, and we aim to match domestic growth with global expansion of this great brand. Working with Premiership Rugby and Altice group, we look forward to bringing Premiership Rugby to existing and new broadcasters and media owners around the world.”