French media group Le Groupe Depeche (LGD) has picked up domestic rights to matches featuring French teams in English rugby league’s top-tier Super League.
The deal, struck with the Rugby League Commercial (RL Commercial) arm, will see Le Groupe Depeche and its subsidiary Midol Sports air all matches involving the Catalan Dragons and Toulouse Olympique (TO) teams for the 2026 season live on digital platform Rugbyrama.
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Specifically, Rugbyrama will broadcast a minimum of 51 matches from the regular season with French commentary, as well as a dedicated weekly highlights program featuring all Super League games and additional coverage published across the LGD’s other media outlets, including bi-weekly rugby newspaper Midi Olympique, daily newspaper L’Independent, and the Rugbyrama Twitch channel.
The 2026 Super League season kicks off on February 12, with Catalans Dragons’ first match against Huddersfield Giants on February 13, followed by Toulouse Olympique taking on Wakefield Trinity on February 14.
Emmanuel Massicard, director of Midol Sports, said: "We are delighted to offer this experience to Dragons and TO fans, and to share together what promises to be a magnificent season.
“Rugbyrama and L’Indépendant, with the support of Groupe Dépêche, will bring their expertise, engagement, and the passion of their teams to unite all Rugby League fans around the Super League.”
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By GlobalDataThe deal was brokered by international sports agency IMG, RL Commercial’s strategic partner since 2022.
The 2026 campaign will be the second Super League season to involve two French teams after the league’s expansion from 12 to 14 teams, with Toulouse Olympique and York Knights selected for promotion into the top-tier competition last year.
The Dragons have been involved in the league since the 2006 season, while TO spent a single season in the top division in 2022.
The Super League has not been able to secure a French broadcaster to provide coverage in the country to the whole league, with domestic media outlets choosing to only cover Dragons’ matches.
Previous rightsholders in the country include French free-to-air channel L’Equipe and pay-TV broadcaster BeIN.
Rights in the UK, meanwhile, are held by pay-TV broadcaster Sky in a deal signed in 2023 and running through 2027.
Adam Treeby, head of broadcast at RL Commercial, said: “Welcoming La Depeche to our overseas broadcast partners is positive news ahead of the start of what promises to be a bumper season of action in the Betfred Super League.
“Both Super League and the Dragons will celebrate significant milestones in 2026, with the competition turning 30 and the Dragons marking 20 years in Super League, while Toulouse is celebrating a first return to the top-flight since 2022.
“We’ve experienced first-hand the passion of French rugby league supporters over the years, so we hope this renewed coverage of the sport in France helps the teams to continue to grow their support base and brand both locally and internationally.”
The new rights deal comes a month after the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Papua New Guinea’s national broadcaster, secured exclusive rights to the Super League across PNG, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands for the 2026 to 2028 seasons.
Other Super League broadcasters include UK pay-TV broadcaster Sky and public broadcaster the BBC, Australian pay-TV service Foxtel, US sports channel Fox Soccer Plus, international pay-TV network BeIN Sports, and Southeast Europe’s Sportklub.
Meanwhile, Super League announced an extension and expansion with train operator Northern, which will continue as the competition’s official sustainable train travel partner.
The new agreement, which runs through 2027, takes the pair’s partnership for a decade and will see Northern’s rights expanded to include the Women’s Super League and Wheelchair Super League, alongside the men’s competition.
The deal will continue to focus on reducing the sport’s carbon footprint by encouraging fans to use public transport.
Rhodri Jones, managing director at RL Commercial, said: “Northern’s long-standing commitment to Rugby League goes far beyond the elite men’s game, and the expansion of this partnership to include the Women’s and Wheelchair Super Leagues is a powerful statement of shared values.
“Alongside their continued support of the community game and sustainable travel, Northern are a partner that genuinely helps our sport reach more people in more meaningful ways.”
