ESPN and Major League Rugby AnnounceMultiyear Media Rights Agreement

Live Coverage Begins with the 2025 Season on Feb. 15
All Matches Stream Live on ESPN+; Select Games on ESPN2

ESPN and Major League Rugby (MLR) have reached a multiyear media rights agreement, bringing the
highest level of professional rugby in the United States to ESPN platforms. Live coverage begins on
Saturday, Feb. 15 as the 2025 season kicks off with five matches (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
Under the agreement, all regular season and playoff games will stream live on ESPN+, with a select
number of matches presented on ESPN2. Additionally, fans can stream replays of each match, highlights
and rugby content on The Rugby Network, following a 72-hour delay. As part of the agreement, Major
League Rugby will be available across Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Major League Rugby has built a strong foundation as the premier professional rugby league in North
America, and we’re thrilled to be part of its next phase of growth,” said Tim Bunnell, ESPN SVP of
Programming and Acquisitions. “As MLR continues to establish itself on the North American sports
landscape, we look forward to bringing the league’s dynamic competition to an even wider audience.”
“During our 2024 campaign we grew our viewership by more than 25 percent year over year. We are
hyperfocused on increasing our audience and introducing rugby to more American sports fans every year.
This relationship with ESPN will give us an opportunity to supercharge that growth,” said Nic Benson,
Major League Rugby Commissioner. “Given the depth of talent across the league, I’m confident we’re
headed toward our most exciting season yet. This strategic agreement will enable more of our fans to
tune-in for some best-in-class rugby action.”
The road to the 2025 MLR Championship officially begins over President’s Day weekend, featuring 18
weeks of intense regular season action, followed by two weeks of playoffs, all leading to the MLR
Championship on June 28, where the league’s best will battle for the coveted MLR Shield. This season,
11 teams from across the country will compete for the title, including Anthem RC, Chicago Hounds,
Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks, New England Free Jacks, NOLA Gold, Old Glory DC, Rugby LA, San
Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, and Utah Warriors.
The league’s new media rights agreement substantially increases the league’s visibility and enhances its
reach. This move follows a 2024 season marked by growth in media coverage, ticket sales and social
media engagement, including the 2024 MLR Championship, which featured a record crowd of more than
12,000 as the New England Free Jacks captured their second straight title with a victory over the Seattle
Seawolves.
“We are tremendously excited to work with ESPN on behalf of Major League Rugby,” William Mao,
Octagon’s SVP Media Rights Consulting said. “Already the most-watched professional rugby league in
the United States, MLR is the primary vehicle pushing the sport forward in our market. And now with a
presence across ESPN platforms, the league will be even better positioned to fuel rugby fandom in the
U.S. ahead of the 2031 Rugby World Cup.”
For more information, visit MajorLeague.Rugby.

About Major League Rugby:
Major League Rugby is a professional sports league representing the highest level of rugby competition in
North America. MLR prides itself in fostering intense, high-stakes competition while bringing together a
passionate community built on the values of Respect, Inclusivity, and Tradition. Matches are televised on
the ESPN family of networks and streamed via ESPN+. MLR’s 11 teams span across the country in
Anthem RC, Chicago Hounds, Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks, New England Free Jacks, NOLA Gold,
Old Glory DC, Rugby LA, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves and the Utah Warriors. For more
information, visit www.Majorleague.Rugby and follow @USMLR on Twitter and Instagram.
The Rugby Network, MLR’s OTT platform, offers fans the ability to stream select MLR matches, along
with Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Premiership Women’s Rugby, collegiate rugby and other international
rugby content.
About Octagon Global Media Rights Consulting:
Octagon’s global media rights consulting division advises more than $26 Billion in media rights for a
comprehensive collection of the world’s largest organizations in sports and media, including the NFL,
MLR, MLB, NWSL, WWE, NCAA Conferences and Universities, major broadcast and streaming
networks, and a variety of other properties across five continents.
As part of its expansive media rights practice, Octagon leverages the strength and size of its proprietary
data, research, analytics, and technology, to provide strategic consultation to major domestic and
international rights holders, as well as teams, broadcasters, emerging distribution platforms, and the
sports investment community.
About ESPN:
ESPN, the world’s leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television
networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms,
ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent
owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About ESPN+:
ESPN+ is the No. 1 sports streaming platform, serving fans in the U.S. with exclusive access to more
than 32,000 live sports events each year, an unmatched library of on-demand replays and acclaimed
original content, and premium written articles by the top reporters and analysts from ESPN.com. Fans
sign up to ESPN+ for just $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or in the
ESPN App on mobile and connected devices. For more visit the ESPN+ Press Kit.