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European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) has secured broadcast partnerships with Viaplay in the UK and Ireland and Eleven in Italy for the second-tier European Challenge Cup competition.
Viaplay will show at least four matches from each round of group fixtures, as well as coverage of the knockout stages as part of a two-year deal. Eleven will focus on pool matches involving Italian sides and the most high-profile games from the latter stages of the competition.
The matches add to both broadcasters’ existing rugby coverage. Viaplay has the rights to the United Rugby Championship (URC) and French Top14, while Eleven has the rights to the men’s and women’s Italian top-flights.
“We are thrilled to partner with EPCR and to secure even more world-class rugby to complement our URC and Top 14 coverage,” said Ed Breeze, Viaplay’s UK head of sports.
“Rugby is a top priority for Viaplay in the UK, and our viewers can look forward to some of the very best action from the EPCR Challenge Cup over the coming two years.”
BT Sport and Sky Italia hold the rights to the European Champions Cup in the UK and Ireland, and Italy between them, meaning rugby fans will now have to take out an additional subscription if they want to watch every match. However, the EPCR is confident its new partners will provide a boost for the Challenge Cup’s reach given their existing rights portfolios.
The current campaign is the first of a new three-year deal with BT Sport, while the organisation has also struck free-to-air (FTA) deals with ITV and Welsh-language S4C in the UK, RTE in Ireland, and France Televisions. BeIN Sports, Supersport and FloSports are the main broadcasters in France, South Africa and the US, while certain matches are streamed in territories where no rights deal has been agreed.
“This is a momentous season for the tournaments as we welcome the leading South African clubs into the EPCR fold, and Viaplay are an important addition to the wide range of subscription and free-to-air agreements we have in place for the new broadcast cycle,” said EPCR chairman Dominic McKay.
“Already broadcasting our league competitions, the BKT United Rugby Championship and LNR’s Top 14, Viaplay have rugby broadcast experience in place and are certain to bring new viewers to the tournament in the UK.”
Many rights holders have sought to bundle as many rights as possible in order to attract interest from broadcasters and streamers who want large volumes of content for their platforms. Since the revamp of European club rugby union in 2014, EPCR has bundled the rights to its competitions, and in the US has even thrown in key fixtures from the URC and Top 14.
However, in more developed rugby markets it has adjusted its approach in order to secure more reach for its competitions and benefit from growing competition from streaming services.
Viaplay will give far more attention to Challenge Cup matches than BT Sport, which understandably tended to focus on the top-tier European Cup, as it seeks to fill the temporary gap left by the URC in its schedules. Meanwhile, you could feasibly argue that the Challenge Cup is more valuable than the European Cup in Italy given none of its clubs in the URC have qualified.
Despite a more fragmented landscape, EPCR will be confident it has secured the right balance of reach and revenue with its pay-TV and FTA deals.
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