Japan Rugby League One (JRL1), the country’s top-tier rugby union competition, has secured its domestic broadcast coverage for the 2025-26 season after agreeing rights deals with sports streaming platform DAZN and pay-TV broadcaster J Sports.
Under the deal, DAZN will broadcast all JRL1 matches during the 2025-26 season, starting with six opening round games on December 13 and 14 and running through the season-ending final on June 7, 2026.
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DAZN’s package also includes rights in the country to show all matches from the second-tier Division Two and third-tier Division Three, as well as the playoff tournament and promotion/relegation matches.
J Sports, meanwhile, has upgraded its agreement to become an official partner of the competition, having held the business co-creation partner designation since the league’s inception in 2022.
Under its agreement, J Sport will deliver more match coverage and ancillary programs than it did last season, when it provided “over 2,700 hours of coverage on TV (269 programs) and over 800 hours of coverage on its video streaming service,” J Sports On Demand.
The pay-TV broadcaster said it will also support the competition's growth by airing free content and utilizing social media to reach new fan bases.
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By GlobalDataElsewhere, Japanese technology company Docomo has announced it will continue to air all 18 matches featuring the JRL1’s Uruyasu D-Rocks for free on its Lemino streaming service for the 2025-26 season.
DAZN’s latest rights come as the company continues to grow its presence in Japan. So far, it has secured rights in the country's top European soccer leagues in Spain, Italy, France, and Belgium, as well as to the LIV Golf tour and basketball’s Liga ACB.
Earlier this year, it added German soccer’s top-tier Bundesliga to its stable of rights through the 2027-28 season, and last month, it started airing games from French rugby’s Top 14 competition.
