European club rugby, including the Champions Cup final, is set to be shown on free-to-air TV in the U.K. and Ireland from next year, "with the carrot of larger audiences proving a persuasive factor" to tournament organizers, according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. BT Sport will become the sole pay-TV broadcaster after winning a four-year deal from the start of the '18-19 season, but European Professional Club Rugby will "go to market with a separate package of rights for a free-to-air partner." It is understood the free-to-air package is "likely to be made up of one match per round and the final and signals another shift away from sports just chasing the biggest payday." It is the second example within recent weeks of sports realizing that a "significant free-to-air presence" can be "an important factor in terms of viewers, which can have a knock-on effect both for participation and sponsors." The England & Wales Cricket Board also "provided a separate package for non-pay TV broadcasters in its rights announced last week" (LONDON TIMES, 7/4).
BT SPORT: The BBC's Bill Wilson reported BT Sport has "won the exclusive rights" to show the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Up to 134 matches a season will be shown live on TV in the U.K. and Ireland over nine weekends. Live streams will "also be available on the firm's app and website." BT Sport also has the rights to the Premiership and the Anglo-Welsh Cup. It will show up to 69 live premiership matches this season (BBC, 7/4). In Belfast, Jonathan Bradley reported EPCR CEO Vincent Gaillard believes that having only one pay-TV broadcaster, which will also air the secondary competition, the Challenge Cup, will "simplify the viewing experience" for fans, some of whom have been "turned off since the demise of the Heineken Cup" (BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 7/5).
