TNT Sports agree new long-term Premiership deal for UK and Ireland

TNT Sports has agreed a new long-term deal with Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby that will see it continue as the exclusive broadcaster of Gallagher Premiership Rugby in the UK and Ireland through to the end of the 2030/31 season.

Every Gallagher Premiership match, including play-offs and the final, will be broadcast live on TNT Sports’ linear channels or via the streaming platform discovery+.

Select matches from the Premiership Rugby Cup will also be shown.

The agreement also extends TNT’s coverage of Premiership Women’s Rugby until the end of the 2028/29 season. At least one match from each round, plus both semi-finals and the final, will be shown live. TNT Sports will retain the top pick of each round.

The announcement follows a period of record audience growth for both competitions. TNT Sports reported an 11 per cent year-on-year increase in average Premiership Rugby audiences after 13 rounds of the 2024/25 season, and an 86 per cent rise in viewership for Premiership Women’s Rugby compared to the previous year.

Simon Massie-Taylor, chief executive officer of Premiership Rugby, said: “Our recent partnership with TNT Sports has helped drive record audiences and attract a million new fans to the Gallagher Premiership, alongside drawing record crowds and a second sold-out final in a row.

“Our clubs have worked hard to establish the Gallagher Premiership as a compelling competition with high-quality entertaining rugby, and TNT have embraced the challenge to continue to innovate to help grow the sport and their output has been first class.

The move has also been welcomed by TNT Sports parent company, Warner Bros.

“TNT Sports is proud to cement its position as the home of men’s and women’s domestic rugby, providing fans with certainty on where they can watch every moment of every match of Premiership Rugby and extensive coverage of Premiership Women’s Rugby,” Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said. “There is no doubt the quality of both competitions continues to improve each season and we are convinced that the changes being mooted by Premiership Rugby, together with the strength of our production and on-air team, that we can continue to grow viewership and attendance over the next five seasons.”

TNT Sports has been the lead broadcaster of the Gallagher Premiership since 2013.

Genevieve Shore, executive chair of Premiership Women’s Rugby, said: “The extension of our partnership with TNT Sports is a huge step forward for Premiership Women’s Rugby.”