Premiership: ITV to broadcast free-to-air live matches and highlights until 2023-24
- Published
Leicester and Sale will go head-to-head in ITV's first free-to-air Premiership fixture on 30 January
ITV has agreed a new deal with Premiership Rugby to broadcast a number of matches, including the Twickenham final, on free-to-air television.
Sale against leaders Leicester on Sunday, 30 January will be the first of this season's five matches to be shown.
It means the final on Saturday, 18 June will be broadcast on free-to-air television for the first time on ITV4.
ITV's deal, which includes a weekly highlights programme, will run until the end of the 2023-24 season.
"Anything that enhances the amount of people who are watching the game is brilliant," Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said.
"If the final can become one of those annual fixtures where you know the whole family can settle down on a Saturday and know it's going to be there on television, then fantastic.
"Who can say that that's not going to be good for the game? The finals have probably been the best matches in the season for the past three or four seasons.
"It's also got to be a good incentive for the players as well. When you're on terrestrial television with millions of people being able to watch, the chance to be involved with something like that is great."
ITV's selected matches will also be simulcast on BT Sport, who will continue to show live fixtures throughout the English men's domestic top flight season as the rights-holder television broadcaster.
ITV will show seven games, including the final, during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC local radio will also continue to provide full match commentary on the Premiership, available on both BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app in the UK.
"Our ambition is to grow the game and make the Premiership available to as many people as possible," Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said.
Channel 5 previously had a similar agreement with Premiership Rugby to simulcast a number of fixtures on terrestrial television.