New TV deal for women's rugby

A new landmark deal between Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby and RugbyPass TV is a critical moment for the accessibility and growth of the sport, says World Rugby’s chief marketing and content officer James Rothwell.

RugbyPass TV will broadcast one live Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby game per round, available to watch in all countries across the world excluding US, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The broadcast channel, launched ahead of the Men’s Rugby World Cup in August, is a free, official streaming service from World Rugby, making the game available to fans globally through live and on-demand content.

Looking ahead at the two-year window until the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, Rothwell insists telling the broader story of Premiership Women's Rugby can drive momentum for the greater good of the game.

“To have 21 match weekends span five months over this competition and to have so many stars playing in this market is amazing,” Rothwell said.

“We need to make sure that this is a staple in our live programming strategy, that we’re helping to create stars from all of the nations represented in the competition.

“It’s important that we work with Premiership Women's Rugby to drive that excitement and momentum globally for the Rugby World Cup 2025 which is going to be so important.”

The announcement comes off the back of a hugely successful WXV campaign where RugbyPass TV broadcasted matches live across all three variations of the tournament.

A total of 135 countries tuned in to watch WXV, the same market World Rugby will tap into with PWR.

The channel will also broadcast the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series live, featuring a plethora of PWR stars including Abi Burton, Alicia Maude and Heather Cowell.

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