French commercial broadcaster TF1 has secured coverage of the French national rugby team’s Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Italy on August 30 after sublicensing the rights from public-service broadcaster France Télévisions.
France Télévisions holds rights to national rugby team matches as part of its five-season deal, from 2016-17 to 2020-21, with the Fédération Française de Rugby, the French rugby union federation.
The deal will allow TF1 to promote its coverage of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in France, having agreed a deal for rights with World Rugby last year.
It will be exclusively broadcasting the 2019 edition after failing to secure a sublicense agreement earlier this year.