RTÉ and TG4 to Broadcast the United Rugby Championship from September

The United Rugby Championship will be available on Free-to-Air broadcasters in Ireland for the next four years with RTÉ and TG4 agreeing to share rights to 52 of the 60 Irish fixtures every season.

The United Rugby Championship kicks off in September where four of South Africa’s elite teams will join the 12 existing Guinness PRO14 teams to form a 16 team league.

This agreement with RTÉ and TG4 (subject to contract) will open the door to greater audiences in the Republic of Ireland for Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster.

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 URC games live. The final will also be delivered free to air with RTÉ and TG4 broadcasting it live on alternate years.

TG4 will also have live rights to a further 16 non-Irish fixtures in addition to the 26 Irish games.

Additionally, the United Rugby Championship and RTÉ will team up to offer a domestic and international OTT (Over The Top) service called URC TV, details of which will be announced later in the summer.

The collaboration between the two national broadcasters in the Republic of Ireland presents great news for sports fans and the provinces. TG4 continue to build on their 20-year association with the league with RTÉ returning to the competition for the first time since 2014.