Blow for Super League as rugby league set to lose crucial TV air time

Despite a new TV deal with Sky Sports with the broadcasters set to show every Super League game in 2024 and beyond, the sport could be about to lose air time.

From 2025, Sky Sports will broadcast a record minimum of 215 Premier League matches a season after finalising a new four-year agreement.

With up to 100 more matches each season, Sky Sports’ exclusively live coverage will increase by 70% from 2025/26 through to 2028/29.

As part of the new deal, which will commence with the 2025/26 season, Sky Sports will show more Premier League action than any other broadcaster with at least four matches per week.

Sky Sports’ 215 matches will include more than 140 matches played at weekends, evening matches on Fridays and Mondays and full coverage of three midweek match rounds.

For the first time, Sky Sports will also broadcast all 10 Premier League matches on the final day of each season.

Dana Strong, Group CEO, Sky said: “This is a fantastic result for Sky customers, who will see a significant increase in the number of matches from the most iconic league in the world.

“We are proud of our long history with the Premier League and look forward to delivering more engagement, entertainment, and innovation to the end of the decade. Sky is the undisputed home for sport fans in the UK.”

The unrivalled line-up of Premier League football on Sky Sports will include:

At least 215 live games each season. All first pick matches, giving fans the best matches week in week out until May 2029.Super Sunday remains the flagship kick-off slot at 4.30pm.First and last word on a Premier League weekend with more live games on Fridays and Mondays. For the first time, all the final games on the last day of the season will be live in one place, creating a real moment for fans. And in another first, Sky Sports will now be able to offer multiple live matches on a number of weekends at Sunday 2pm.

This is truly disappointing for rugby league fans who were expecting this kind of treatment for the sport. Instead, we are likely to only see two to three live games a week on Sky channels with the rest on a streaming service which will do little to grow the game and achieve the desired viewing figures.