ITV will show live Premiership Rugby matches and a weekly highlights programme up until the end of the 2023-24 season.
Four matches will be shown by the terrestrial broadcaster between now and the completion of the season in June. The coverage kicks off with Sale Sharks taking on Leicester Tigers on Sunday 30 January at 3pm, with the highlights show starting that evening. This year’s final will be seen on ITV 4, the first time the conclusion to the competition has been seen on free-to-air television.
In future seasons seven matches, including the final, will be available on ITV.
BT Sport will continue to show live matches every weekend and will simulcast the ITV game.
“Our ambition is to grow the game and make Gallagher Premiership Rugby available to as many people as possible,” said New Premiership Rugby Chief Executive Simon Massie-Taylor. “BT Sport have done an amazing job in building the core Premiership Rugby TV audience and the ITV partnership allows us to expand our reach into the households of millions of other rugby fans. This season our average match audience on BT Sport has risen 30% year on year, which shows the potential.”
Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, added: “We are delighted to announce this deal to bring regular free-to-air coverage of top-level club rugby to viewers across ITV’s platforms. It has been a pleasure working with BT Sport and our partners at Premiership Rugby in agreeing this deal and we look forward to showcasing the action and the stories from this elite league over the coming years.”
Channel 5 dropped its highlights programme at the end of the 2020/21 season.
