IT HAS BEEN confirmed that the United Ruby Championship will be available on free-to-air TV for Irish fans.
A statement released today announced: “RTÉ and TG4 are proudly partnering to deliver world-class club rugby to Irish audiences. The public service media organisations have announced that they have secured broadcasting rights for the new United Ruby Championship (URC) ensuring it will be predominantly free to air for Irish audiences for the next four years.
“RTÉ has secured the rights for live TV, radio and online coverage of 26 games featuring the Irish provinces in the league, plus additional knockout matches.
“TG4’s Rugbaí Beo will continue to be the station’s flagship rugby programme and will broadcast 26 games involving Irish provincial clubs and an additional 16 games featuring international club sides.
“The URC final will also be delivered free to air with RTÉ and TG4 broadcasting it live on alternate years.”
The tournament, which begins in September, will feature existing Pro14 teams and South Africa’s top clubs in a newly formed 16-team league.
The statement added: “RTÉ has also announced that it is working with URC on the launch of global OTT service to make the championship available to audiences around the world. Details of the new global URC TV service will be announced later in the summer.”
The announcement marks the latest rights acquisition for RTÉ, with the broadcaster also recently confirming deals with the Six Nations, the Champions League and extended agreements with the FAI and Horse Racing Ireland.
