English club rugby is set to return to free-to-air television following the agreement of a new deal with ITV. At the start of this season there was widespread disappointment when the popular Channel 5 highlights show was axed but Premiership Rugby has now negotiated a fresh partnership with ITV until the end of the 2023-24 season.
There is a catch for viewers hoping to see full games on ITV every weekend, with the deal involving a mere four live matches this season plus the final on ITV4. Premiership officials, though, are delighted that their grand finale, for the first time in the competition’s history, will be shown on live free-to-air TV in tandem with BT Sport’s well-regarded coverage.
In each of the next two seasons, however, seven games including the final will be aired by ITV, organisers having apparently accepted that the abrupt disappearance of the sport from Channel 5 was a mistake which needed rectifying. It was the first time for 14 years that Premiership rugby had not been available on terrestrial television, with Craig Doyle and Martin Bayfield having presented their first ITV highlights show in 2007. The new weekly highlights show on ITV4 will now be fronted by David Flatman and Topsy Ojo.
Premiership Rugby’s new chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor hailed the deal as “great news for the league, our clubs, the supporters and the profile of rugby in England” and now hopes it will prove a springboard towards more widespread interest in the sport.
“Our ambition is to grow the game and make Gallagher Premiership Rugby available to as many people as possible,” said 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.”
Last season’s final between Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs was among Twickenham’s most enthralling days and Massie-Taylor is seeking to make the 2022 final the most-watched fixture in the tournament’s history. “We believe we can achieve that with the match screened on both ITV4 and BT Sport,” he added. “It is also crucial for us to have a weekly highlights programme that is accessible to millions of people. This will allow us to showcase the best of Gallagher Premiership rugby to the widest possible audience.”
ITV’s first live game will see Sale Sharks playing host to the Premiership pacesetters Leicester Tigers on 30 January.
