English rugby union’s top-flight Premiership competition has rebranded, and will now be known simply as the Prem, a move that it believes will aid it in attracting new demographics and commercial partners to the sport.
Title sponsored by insurance firm Gallagher, the Prem rebrand, complete with a new logo, iconography, and brand palette, was unveiled at the 2024-25 Premiership final on Saturday (June 14) and will take effect from the 2025-26 campaign.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Speaking to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport), Premiership Rugby chief growth officer Rob Calder explained how the rebrand will allow the league to target new commercial markets that it had touched upon far less in previous years.
He commented: “We think that there are more stories to tell. For us in Prem Rugby, it's about energy, dynamism, and power, so, you can read into that what kind of categories we would want to see more of, but that's where we’re leaning into, because we want our partners, where possible, to be part of the marketing mix.”
Up until this point, Premiership Rugby’s partnership portfolio is dominated by business-to-business firms such as Gallagher (the league’s long-term title partner), financial services firm Funding Circle, and advertising company Ocean Outdoor.
This shift from Premiership to just ‘Prem’, vernacular that the league states most fans already use to refer to the competition, may now signal the league is similarly adopting a commercial strategy that invites in more consumer-focused brands.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataCalder, who previously worked on cricket’s The Hundred short form competition, continued: “With The Hundred, we moved away from banking, alcohol, and betting, because those were categories that were already well established within international cricket, and we wanted to get into consumer brands. And we managed to do that with the likes of KP Snacks, Unilever, and Robinson's, and it's the same idea here.
Calder also commented that the league has looked to other sports properties beyond The Hundred, such as soccer’s Women’s Super League for inspiration on the commercial front, adding: “[There have been] a lot of deals in women's soccer where consumer goods brands are looking at [women’s sport] and understanding the scale that it can bring.
“On that front, we have a very close relationship with Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR), so we have gone to market in recent months as an aligned partnership with that league, and we think there's a big opportunity there for us to build something that's gender neutral.”
The Prem rebrand has come with an increased focus on the physical nature of rugby union, a focus that has shone a spotlight onto the traditionally masculine nature. Calder concedes that this means not every partnership will carry over across Prem and PWR, but insisted that there will at least be an increased relationship across the commercial side of both top flights.
Calder spoke ahead of the Premiership Rugby final, which saw Bath defeat Leicester 23-21 in a tense affair.
The game drew a crowd of over 81,000 at Twickenham Stadium, a strong turnout mirroring the viewership across the 2024-25 campaign on pay-TV heavyweight TNT Sports, which was up year-on-year by 10%.
In May, TNT Sports renewed its partnership with Premiership Rugby early, with the long-term contract now running through the 2030-31 campaign.
On the renewed deal, Calder said: “The relationship with TNT is so important to us, and being in a place where you have an aligned partnership with a broadcaster is critical to growth.
“They have seen the brand strategy develop over the last 12 months, and in our pitch process with them, we talked about where we wanted to take this sport, and they totally buy into that. They buy into our executive team, Simon [Massie Taylor] has got us pointed in the right direction, and they would say that we're good partners to work with.
“We've got a six-year [broadcast] runway. There aren't many sports that have got that length of deal. And what it gives you is certainty of tenure. It gives you that ability to build foundations, but also to start to layer in that. It also means that the same faces are going to be involved as you develop the same talent.”
