beIN Sports and France Télévisions renew EPCR deal for Heineken Champions Cup

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) has renewed its broadcast rights deals in France with beIN Sports and France Télévisions. 

The new four-year deals will see both broadcasters continue to provide coverage of the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge in France.

beIN Sports will broadcast every Heineken Champions Cup match throughout the pool and knockout stages, as well as a selection of EPCR Challenge Cup fixtures, until the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.

France Télévisions meanwhile will broadcast  two Heineken Champions Cup matches, as well as one EPCR Challenge Cup fixture, on a free-to-air basis each weekend also until the end of the 2025/26 season.

The announcement comes after the EPCR announced rights deals with SuperSport in South Africa and with streamer FloSports in the US. The body will announce its UK and Ireland rights deals in the coming weeks.

EPCR Chairman, Dominic McKay, said: “We are delighted to confirm that beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions are on board once again for this new global phase of our competitions, helping us to reach wider audiences than ever before. We know beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions consistently deliver to the premium benchmark we expect of our partners in showcasing our world-class tournaments. With the five South African clubs competing for the first time, there will also be some intriguing new rivalries between global superstars of South Africa and France, and beIN Sports and France Télévisions will play crucial roles in bringing that intriguing narrative to French fans.”

Martin Aurenche, beIN Media Group vice-president of Sports Content and Acquisitions, said: “Since the 2014/15 season, beIN SPORTS subscribers have had the pleasure of watching the most prestigious club rugby competitions with our extensive coverage of all Heineken Champions Cup matches, as well as at least two EPCR Challenge Cup fixtures involving French clubs, in every round.”

Laurent-Eric Le Lay, France Télévisions Director of Sport, said: “As a major partner of rugby in France and as a long-time broadcaster of the Heineken Champions Cup since its launch in 1995, we are delighted to renew our agreement with EPCR for the next four years. We will make the competitions even more accessible to viewers with two top Heineken Champions Cup fixtures on France 2 and one EPCR Challenge Cup match on France 3 each weekend.”