CHAMPIONS CUP RUGBY will be shown on free-to-air television in Ireland for the first time since 2006 after TV3 further strengthened its position in the rugby rights market.
The Irish broadcaster, who this year acquired the rights for the Six Nations championship from RTÉ, has secured a four-year agreement with the EPCR to broadcast nine live Champions Cup games per season.
As part of the deal, TV3 will carry live coverage of one Champions Cup match per week of the group stages from the beginning of next season until the the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The agreement also includes live coverage of one quarter-final, one semi-final and the Champions Cup final in each of the next four seasons, as well as a weekly highlights show featuring the Irish provinces.
With the EPCR set to announce a further free-to-air offering in the United Kingdom, believed to be to Channel 4, competition organisers are increasing its reach in a bid to attract new fans.
The rights for European rugby’s premier club competition are currently shared between Sky Sports and BT Sport, but the latter have already been confirmed as the sole pay-per-view broadcast partner in the UK and Ireland until the end of the 2021/22 season.
EPCR Marketing and Commercial Director, Carsten Couchouron, said:
“It’s a key EPCR objective to take the outstanding rugby experiences of European professional club rugby into the homes of even more fans and we are delighted to be increasing our coverage with TV3 in Ireland. TV3 have extensive experience of delivering quality rugby broadcasting and we are certain they will bring both knowledge and passion to the Champions Cup.”
“We are delighted to be bringing Champions Cup rugby to TV3,” the station’s managing director Pat Kiely added.
“This deal reflects the great momentum we now have and, as part of Virgin Media, we continue to deliver more great content and live events for our viewers and customers. We are clearly in a golden era for Irish rugby and Irish audiences can now look forward to even more action from club and country on TV3.”
The Champions Cup returns in a fortnight with Munster hosting Toulon in their quarter-final clash at Thomond Park before Leinster face defending champions Saracens at the Aviva Stadium on Easter Sunday.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Fair play
@.: Where are all the moaners on here giving out about TV3 up to last year? They’ve slowly built up their resources and made themselves more attractive to the buyout. Good to see some small bit of plurality in the Irish TV media
@Noel Ryan: amazing .. hats off
Nice one. I have to say that I’ve enjoyed the TV3 coverage of the games more than I thought I would. It will be nice to be able to watch back missed games on TV3 player too. Hopefully they get Murray Kinsella for a highlights show during the week.
@EK: yep. Very impressed
@EK: totally agree, they are doing a great job
This is great news,makes me laugh why we have to pay a tv license charge for RTE,for what?wooden acting on Fair City and watching nobody’s on The Late Late Show
I missed having the option of watching European rugby in my living room. Nice one
Bloody brilliant
Woohoo!
All I can say is tv3 I love you
That’s good, of course, but nine isn’t very many. Getting to see all the Irish teams’ matches will still probably require Sky/BT?
@Brendan O’Brien: one game a week which is basically what RTÉ were doing back in there day.
@Brendan O’Brien: it’s a start. And from next season sky and BT will be showing each others content on their platforms. So it’ll be a batter situation than it’s been for a while
Hopefully tv3 get rid of Williams and it will be all good
@Adrian Carroll: He’s an awful dose
@Adrian Carroll: Bollocks. Mett Wulliams is brilliant.
@Adrian Carroll: and quinny. “Aaaaahhmmm”
@john o’regan: cant take quinny seriously without the fingerless gloves. Doesnt feel the same
I think Sky have lost the rights for next season
BT are the pay per view channel with the rights
Well done, TV3. Even when they’re giving it away, RTE manage to f*ck it up. License fee is a load of me hoop.
Thats probably why Ryle left, broke his heart I’d say
@Odockatee: He’s still there tho.
With this being free to air does that mean revenue for the provinces will be affected?
@Peter Nagle: doubt it will have much effect since its only one match per week so would imagine they will have to alternate between the provinces