Rugby League Commercial (RLC), the body in charge of that sport's commercial side across England, has announced a new partnership with German brewer ABK Beer.
The deal, which covers the top-tier Super League, Challenge Cup, and England Rugby League, makes the ROKiT-owned brewer the official beer of the sport across England.
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Rhodri Jones, managing director of RL Commercial, said: “We are very pleased to announce this major new partnership for Rugby League after months of planning. The staff at ROKiT Drinks have been great to work with and have fully bought into Rugby League and our ethos."
Jonathan Kendrick, chairman and co-founder of ROKiT, added: "We're very excited that ABK Beer has become the official beer of Rugby League, not just because we know rugby fans appreciate excellent beer, but also the history and ethos of Rugby League sit very well with the traditions and values of our 700-year-old brewery."
Today has also seen RLC unveil a two-year domestic radio rights extension with commercial station talkSport.
That broadcaster will cover 40 matches per season in 2024 and 2025, across both the men’s and women’s Super League competitions.
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By GlobalDataThe 2024 campaign, which gets underway on February 15, will mark talkSport’s ninth covering Super League action.
On this front, Jones commented: “The continued coverage is fantastic news for Super League fans who now have the opportunity to listen to more than 80 live Super League games over the next two years. The fact that the deal includes coverage of the Women’s Super League for the first time is another indication of the growing profile of that competition.”
Last month RLC partnered with Endeavor Streaming to launch a new over-the-top (OTT) platform covering the Super League.
The unveiling of SuperLeague+ followed the tie-up struck between RLC and the IMG sports marketing heavyweight in mid-2022, with Endeavor Streaming under the same overall Endeavor banner as IMG.
SuperLeague+ will cover all 167 matches from the 12-team 2024 Super League live season in overseas markets, starting with the season opener.
Earlier in January, meanwhile, RLC and IMG unveiled a partnership with fantasy game developer Voono.
