ITV has agreed an exclusive deal to secure the live TV rights for next year's Rugby World Cup in Australia. The broadcaster has become the home of international rugby in the UK, having already bought the live rights for every game of the upcoming Nations Championship, as well as the 2028 edition of the competition. ITV also already shows two-thirds of Six Nations games - and every England fixture - as part of a joint broadcast deal with the BBC.
As a result, this latest move has also seen ITV ensure that it will have live coverage of every England rugby match until at least 2029.
BBC's Renewed Interest in Rugby Broadcasting
Despite this dominance in rugby broadcasting, ITV reportedly faced competition from the BBC in securing rights to the World Cup. According to The Guardian, the BBC has shown renewed interest in broadcasting rugby following the success of its coverage of the Women's Rugby World Cup last year. Across the tournament, a total TV audience of 12 million tuned in to watch, with a further 10.5 million streams being recorded on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport's digital platform. A record-breaking peak audience of 5.8 million viewers also tuned in to watch the Red Roses beat Canada in the final.
However, despite the BBC's interest, ITV was reportedly determined to secure the exclusive rights rather than pursuing a joint deal.
UK TV Deal Largest for World Rugby
Now, 15 months out from the start of the tournament, an agreement has been reached, with the UK TV deal the largest for organisers World Rugby, who have already agreed contracts elsewhere with the likes of CBS, Paramount+, Channel Nine and TF1.
It comes after it was confirmed that England’s highly-anticipated Nations Championships opener against world champions South Africa this weekend is set to be moved to ITV4. Despite the fixture being the most eye-catching of the opening round of Test rugby's big new competition, it won't feature on ITV's main channel, ITV1, with the broadcaster instead focusing on its FIFA World Cup coverage.
While ITV are understood to be open to late schedule changes, as things stand, England's clash with the Springboks will be shown on ITV4, with coverage starting just 20 minutes before the game kicks off at 4.40pm BST. Over on ITV1 at the same time, Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals will be shown, followed by national and regional news broadcasts. Coverage of the World Cup round of 16 clash between Canada and Morocco will then begin on the channel at 5.15pm, ahead of its kick-off in Houston at 6pm BST. Earlier in the day, the Nations Championship clash between Fiji and Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium will be shown on ITV1 (KO: 2.10pm).
