United Rugby Championship has reported sharply lower streaming costs and higher revenues after migrating its direct-to-consumer service URC TV to Eluvio’s Content Fabric platform.
The rugby competition said the first year of the switch delivered a 62% reduction in operating costs, a 64% increase in transactions and a 35% rise in revenue, despite lower pricing across its markets.
URC said the move also helped expand its international reach, with subscribers increasing 2.7 times, viewers in 150 countries, more than 1.25 million sessions and an average seasonal viewing time of 20 hours per user.
The platform now delivers more than 180 live matches, alongside live-to-VOD, DVR, highlights and archive content, across browsers, mobile devices and connected TV platforms including Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung, LG and Roku.
Adam Redmond, media director at United Rugby Championship, said: “In the old world, we were running at extremely high streaming costs and expending a lot of effort for relatively little reward. We knew we wanted to deliver an exceptional fan experience and transformational cost-efficiency. Eluvio already had a proven track record with our partners EPCR TV, and we believed their innovations could deliver, on both the cost and quality side of the equation, to better serve our fan base worldwide.”
He added: “For rights holders without unlimited resources, this is the lesson: the right tech partner is not just a streaming decision, it is a business model decision. Autonomy, cost control, and platform reach are what unlock commercial growth, which is exactly what Eluvio provided to URC TV. Most importantly, Eluvio innovations are all focused on enabling us to drive fan usage and engagement.”
Eluvio said URC TV is now operating as a global streaming hub, using a simplified IP video distribution model designed to improve efficiency, scalability and monetisation.
Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of Eluvio, said: “We’re honored to play such a key role in the commercial success of URC TV, and believe URC TV is a model for sports leagues and content owners of all sizes around the globe. We’re proving that the Content Fabric can shatter the cost and efficiency boundaries that have held back video over IP for decades, maximize monetization, and expand global distribution and fan engagement.”
The announcement comes ahead of NAB Show 2026, where Eluvio is expected to highlight the URC deployment as a case study in lower-cost sports streaming operations.
