Premier Sports, the UK-based pay-TV streaming service, has launched a dedicated rugby streaming service in Canada that will carry the broadcaster’s slate of major international and club competition rights.
From 2026, the new Premier Sports service will stream every match of the men’s Six Nations, U20 Six Nations, the Nations Championship tournaments live and on demand, as well as extensive coverage of southern hemisphere rugby union, including SANZAAR international tour matches and Super Rugby Pacific.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Premier Sports’ coverage will start with the Men’s Six Nations from February 5 to March 14, with the U20 Six Nations running simultaneously from February 5 to March 15, having won exclusive rights to the tournaments in Canada earlier this year.
It will also provide coverage of the inaugural Nations Championship, with matches to be played in July and November every two years.
The 12-team competition is being launched as a joint venture between the European Six Nations collective (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Italy) and the main southern hemisphere rugby nations of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina.
Two more nations will be invited to compete in the tournament, with Fiji and Japan confirmed for the inaugural edition last week.
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 GlobalDataThe streaming service offering also includes SANZAAR Tour Matches, including inbound and outbound tours, and the regular season and finals of the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Ryle Nugent, chief executive of Premier Sports Ireland and Asia, said: “We’re delighted to offer rugby fans in Canada a single high-quality streaming destination for the world’s biggest international tournaments and strongest club competitions available live, on-demand, and on connected platforms nationwide.
“Canada has an informed and passionate rugby community, and we look forward to bringing more tier one rugby to fans as the sport continues to grow in popularity ahead of the next World Cup. We hope that by making these world-class rugby competitions available, we will play our part in a new era of rugby growth in Canada.”
The increased visibility of rugby union in the country comes from Canada’s impressive run at last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, which saw the national team play hosts England in the final at Allianz Stadium in front of a record-breaking 81,885 fans.
Canada’s men’s national team, meanwhile, has been placed in Pool C of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia alongside Argentina, Fiji, and Spain.
The men’s sevens team, meanwhile, was crowned champions of the third-tier SVNS 3, an annual series of tournaments run by World Rugby, earlier this year.
In the UK, Premier Sports has adopted a strong focus on rugby as of late, with the launch of a dedicated rugby channel on linear TV and its OTT platform.
Alongside the Six Nations, Premier Sports also holds the rights in the UK to the elite Champions Cup and secondary EPCR Challenge Cup pan-European competitions, the United Rugby Championship tournament, France’s elite Top 14 domestic competition, Japan’s Rugby League One top-flight, and the US’ Major League Rugby top tier.
Even though Premier Sports’ rights are not exclusive, they nonetheless serve as a valuable proposition for the OTT service.
