ESPN has agreed to stream 18 games of the startup Major League Rugby’s inaugural season that begins next month. The deal with ESPN when combined with a previously announced pact with CBS Sports means that every regular-season and postseason game will be distributed nationally. The ESPN games all will be on its streaming platforms, including ESPN3, the WatchESPN app and the coming ESPN+ subscription service. The deal covers all regular-season games not included in MLR’s linear CBS deal. That agreement includes three postseason games and 10 Saturday primetime featured games. MLR is still in talks with RSNs for local rights packages. The seven charter members of the league are Austin; Houston; Glendale, Colo.; New Orleans; San Diego; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. N.Y. has joined as an associate member this year and expects to begin play in ’19. The league is the creation of several amateur rugby clubs along with as-yet-unnamed capital partners. As part of the deal, ESPN.com has committed to including a range of additional MLR coverage and content on its site.
