ESPN signs £25m deal with Premier Rugby

ESPN has signed an exclusive £25 million three-year deal with Premier Rugby.

The deal will see the sports broadcaster double the number of live televised rugby games it airs from the Guinness Premiership to 43 per season, running through to the 2012-2013 season.

The deal includes rights to live coverage of the final and one of the two semi-finals, as well as highlights for ESPN digital media, such as ESPNScrum.com.

Premier Rugby’s commercial director Jon Varney said the deal will “further raise the profile of the sport in the UK and overseas”.

ESPN will also broadcast live coverage of the French Top 14 Orange Rugby in the UK.  The broadcaster also plans to show archive matches from the six Rugby World Cup tournaments so far on ESPN Classic in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

ESPN, which became well-known in the UK after it acquired rights to the Barclays Premier League following the collapse of Setanta, owns a portfolio of television and digital brands including ESPN Classic, ESPN America, ESPNsoccernet.com and ESPN360.com.