Pay-TV heavyweight Sky Italia has extended its rights deal for the United Rugby Championship (URC), the Europe-based rugby union club competition, through the 2029 campaign.
The three-season extension was struck with URC’s organizers, the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR), and comes as the 2026-27 season prepares to start on September 25.
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The new agreement builds on the pair's original deal, agreed in 2023, which saw Sky Italia take over the rights from Warner Bros. Discovery and DAZN, which provided coverage in Italy as part of a one-season deal.
Two Italian sides currently compete in the URC: Zebre Parma and Benetton Rugby. In the 2025-26 campaign, Benetton finished 13th, while Zebre finished 16th (bottom) of the regular-season table.
Martin Anayi, the United Rugby Championship’s chief executive, commented on the deal renewal: “Sky Italia has been a brilliant supporter of Italian rugby, and this new three-year commitment is another major vote of confidence in the growth of the URC. Since the partnership began, audiences for the Championship on Sky Italia have doubled, and we are seeing further growth across our digital platforms in Italy.”
In terms of recent URC activity, late last week came an announcement that the competition’s long-running sponsorship deal with automotive tyre firm BKT has been renewed and expanded.
Already the title sponsor of the 16-team competition in the northern hemisphere, BKT is now also the URC’s official global tyre partner, extending its presence across all championship territories, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales, and South Africa.
The URC was rebranded from the Pro14 in 2021, with the addition of South African teams.
Giuseppe de Bellis, executive vice president for news, sports, and entertainment at Sky Italia, added: “Sky further strengthens its position as a leading destination for rugby fans, with a comprehensive offering that also includes the Nations Championship and the WXV Global Series featuring the Italian women’s national team.
“This agreement reinforces our partnership with the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) in supporting the growth of the sport.”
Earlier this month, Sky Italia disclosed rights to a host of top-tier men's UEFA European soccer competitions over the next few years.
The broadcaster has acquired rights covering the men's European Championships in 2028, the qualifying games to decide which teams progress to that event, and the 2026-27 Nations League campaign.
The dominant pay-TV broadcaster in Italy will cover all 51 Euro 2028 games, 24 of them exclusively, as the 24-team tournament runs between June 9 and July 9 across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Across rugby union, meanwhile, Sky Italia also covered this year's men's Six Nations tournament, in which Italy finished fourth, as well as the Nations Championship (also involving national teams from the Southern Hemisphere), which got underway in July.
In club rugby, the pay-TV broadcaster airs France's Top 14.
