Sky Sports extends SANZAAR rugby deal through 2030
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- SANZAAR and Sky Sports agreed a new five-year broadcast rights deal covering international rugby from 2026-2030, extending a partnership that has run for over 25 years.
- Sky Sports secured exclusive UK access to New Zealand's eight-match tour of South Africa, dubbed 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry,' which kicks off Friday August 7 and features four Test matches plus four non-Test matches against club sides.
- The Rugby Championship will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in 2027, 2028, and 2029, alongside the Bledisloe Cup and other SANZAAR internationals scheduled in both 2026 and 2030.
- South Africa's tour of New Zealand in 2030 will also be shown live on Sky Sports under the renewed deal.
- UK and Ireland viewers will receive clips and highlights across Sky's digital and social platforms in addition to the exclusive live broadcasts.
- SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris said the organization is "delighted" to retain Sky Sports as a UK rights holder, citing world-class action across Super Rugby Pacific, The Rugby Championship, and the Bledisloe Cup.
Why it matters: For UK and Ireland rugby fans, the five-year extension locks in Sky Sports as the sole broadcaster of every major SANZAAR international — including the full New Zealand-South Africa Test series, The Rugby Championship, and the Bledisloe Cup — through 2030. SANZAAR gains revenue certainty across two World Cup cycles while consolidating premium southern-hemisphere rugby content behind a single pay-TV gatekeeper.
