In a historic deal, the United Rugby Championship, EPCR and Top 14 have bundled their U.S. media rights and will distribute them exclusively in the United States through FloSports, a leading sports streaming platform.
The United Rugby Championship, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), Top 14 Rugby and have formed an unprecedented alliance to bring together the best in international club rugby competition under one robust digital platform allowing for easier access to the sport in the United States.
Across all three properties, FloSports will stream nearly 450 matches representing over 600 hours of live rugby annually. The three-year partnership begins on September 3, 2022, with the start of the Top 14 Rugby season and will run through the 2024-2025 season.
“This is a major step forward in supporting the growth of rugby union in the United States. Combining the rights to the United Rugby Championship alongside the Top 14 and EPCR competitions helps position FloSports as the destination for international club rugby in the US and that audience will be of a great benefit to all of our competitions," said Martin Anayi, CEO of United Rugby Championship.
"There is a major Celtic, Italian and South African diaspora in the United States and rugby’s passion and excitement is a great to connect to their heritage and identity. Collaborating on an international rights deal across our three tournament bodies is also an historic move and its success will help foster more opportunities for work together and grow the game of rugby union across the world.”
“The Heineken Champions Cup is the pinnacle of international club rugby, and we are delighted to enhance the global reach of this competition, and the EPCR Challenge Cup, through this exciting partnership with FloSports alongside two of our leagues – the URC and Top 14," said Dominic McKay, Chairman, EPCR.
"The US market is a key strategic priority for EPCR as we build the audiences and awareness of our world-class competitions in new markets. With the Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, URC and Top 14 available from this season at the home of US rugby, more rugby fans than ever will be to able watch the very best of international club rugby. This is our first foray into collaborating on international media rights deals with our leagues and it is great to announce this partnership with FloSports today.”
“We are delighted to partner with EPCR and URC to bring the best of European rugby to the American public and this collaboration calls for others. As an innovative player in the audiovisual market, FloSports is the right partner to develop rugby in a booming country that will host the Rugby World Cup in 2031,” said René Bouscatel, President of the LNR.
"We are thrilled to be working alongside these three world-class rugby properties to create a historic sports alliance with a mission of supporting the overall growth of the rugby union in the US," said Ryan Fenton, Director, Global Rights Acquisition, FloSports.
"The partnerships with EPCR, URC and Top 14 fit perfectly into our vision to elevate rugby in the US through ongoing investments in media rights that delivers unparalleled live programming and creates compelling news and analysis while building an essential destination for fans of the sport."
