Italian rugby fans will have guaranteed access to the Guinness PRO14 until 2021 with DAZN winning the rights to screen the cross-hemisphere Championship on their streaming and broadcast platforms in Italy.

The three-year agreement ensures that fans of Benetton Rugby and Zebre Rugby Club will see every one of their team’s home & away games with coverage of the Championship on Italian soil including the Guinness PRO14 Final Series games and the Final itself.

DAZN now completes the line-up of home-based broadcasters for the Guinness PRO14 which includes Premier Sport & S4C (UK), eir sport & TG4 (Republic of Ireland) and Super Sport (South Africa). DAZN, part of the Perform group, will also be available to all Mediaset Premium subscribers in Italy across their Smart TVs, mobile phones, tablets, PCs and gaming consoles and also available to Sky Italia customers.

DAZN is available for €9.99 per month with the first month free, see this link for more details: https://watch.dazn.com/it-IT/sports/

With the Guinness PRO14 continuing to grow attendances, digital and broadcast audiences thanks to high-speed rugby produced by the 297 international players spread across five countries, this innovative deal with DAZN represents that latest step in the evolution of the Championship.

DAZN will also replicate the new production standards implemented across the Championship to give fans a greater, more consistent viewing experience.

Martin Anayi, CEO of PRO14 Rugby, welcomed DAZN to the Championship’s broadcast family: “The entry of DAZN to the Guinness PRO14 is a game-changer for the coverage of club rugby in Italy. Now rugby fans in Italy can access more games than ever before from the Guinness PRO14 across digital platforms that work best for them. Innovation is a key driver in everything we do and the arrival of DAZN also ensures that our production standards will be raised right across the Championship.

“There is a tremendous passion for rugby in Italy and we are very optimistic about what the new season will bring for Benetton Rugby and Zebre Rugby Club after they each set a record number of wins last season. Both the Italian Federation and PRO14 Rugby have been searching for a broadcaster who will champion our tournament in Italy and we are thrilled that DAZN share that vision and have committed to us until 2021.”

Alfredo Gavazzi, President of the FIR, said the agreement was fantastic news for Benetton Rugby and Zebre Rugby Club: “The Guinness PRO14 keeps on growing, reaching new markets and new audiences and the DAZN deal for Italy will strengthen this process. DAZN will significantly improve Benetton Rugby and Zebre Rugby Club’s visibility and will also boost the Italian rugby brand through a young, digitally native-audience.

“We’re glad, too, that Guinness PRO14 will be broadcast across a wide-array of platforms which is totally consistent with the social and digital strategy FIR has been following in the recent past and we’re confident the game will get huge benefits from the deal.”

Jacopo Tonoli, Chief Commercial Officer at DAZN, said today’s announcement was excellent news for rugby fans in Italy: “DAZN is proud to become home of Guinness PRO14 Rugby in Italy, a country with some of the most passionate fans in world rugby.

“For the first time, fans of both Benetton Rugby and Zebre Rugby Club will never miss a Guinness PRO14 game from their teams on DAZN in Italy. This is news that establishes DAZN as a must-have for Italian Rugby fans, who now have a better and fairer way to access some of the best European Rugby on offer.

“Today’s news is part of DAZN’s broader aim to start a brand-new era for sports broadcasting in Italy. After months in the making, we’re proud to unveil a hugely compelling line-up of some of the world’s best sport, all in one place, for one affordable monthly fee and no long-term contract.”

Dermot Rigley, Commercial & Marketing Director of PRO14 Rugby, said the focus would now switch to international rights sales: “We’re thrilled to have DAZN on board and now that we have established core production standards across all of our host broadcasters we are able to offer a world-class television product to the international market.

“The reputation of the Guinness PRO14 has grown through the strength of the incredible, high-scoring rugby that we see each week and there is a lot of demand for that in North America, Australia, New Zealand and throughout the rest of the globe. Our partnership with RDA has produced this fantastic agreement with DAZN and we look forward now to finalising our world-wide rights deals which will be a further boost to the Guinness PRO14 and our teams.”

ABOUT DAZN

DAZN is the world’s first pure sport streaming service that allows fans to watch their sport, their way, live or on-demand. Fans can watch their favourite teams, leagues and players anytime, anywhere, for just one affordable monthly price for access to all available sports on the platform.

DAZN has the ability to play, pause and rewind anytime. DAZN provides for a 1-month free trial, no long-term contract, no bundles and the option of cancelling the subscription whenever you want. DAZN is available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan, and now in Canada on most connected devices including Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and games consoles. DAZN is a part of Perform, a leading global sports media group. It will launch in the USA later this year.