Premier Rugby and ESPN have agreed a three year contract for exclusive live rights to 43 matches per season from the Guinness Premiership, beginning next season and running through to the 2012-2013 season, including exclusive live coverage of the Guinness Premiership Final and one of the two semi-final matches. The agreement also provides highlight rights for use on ESPN digital media such as ESPNScrum.com.

Jon Varney, Commercial Director of Premier Rugby said, “This deal with ESPN secures a partnership with one of the world’s leading broadcasters, who become yet another blue chip supporter of club rugby in England.

“Starting next season, our new television deals mean we have doubled the number of live televised Premiership matches, which will further raise the profile of the sport in the UK and overseas and will allow our clubs and sponsors to derive even greater exposure and value. It also means supporters have more chance to see their team on live television.

“ESPN are renowned for their innovation and we are all genuinely excited about the opportunity of working with them to drive value in both our businesses.”

Added Jeroen Oerlemans, Vice President, TV Channels Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “The Guinness Premiership is among the very best UK sports competitions, with a passionate fan base and top quality competition. We’re thrilled to add it to our programming schedule and know that it will deliver great value for fans, advertisers and our partners.”

The world’s most competitive rugby union competition, the Guinness Premiership is the top division for club competition in England. From its beginnings as the Allied Dunbar Premiership in 1998, the league has established itself as a top global rugby union league and evolved into its current format with relegation to and promotion from the second-tier Championship. It features the 12 leading clubs in the country. Its regular season runs from September to May and comprises 22 rounds of matches. The teams play each other on a home and away basis during the regular season with the top four sides qualifying for the semi-final. The top two sides are guaranteed home advantage in the last four with the final staged at Twickenham Stadium.

The agreement adds to ESPN’s coverage of rugby in the UK, where it also delivers live coverage of French Top 14 Orange Rugby. ESPN also recently announced an agreement to show archive matches and footage from each of the six Rugby World Cup tournaments to date on ESPN Classic in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. The content will be featured on the channel in the coming months and will continue in the run-up to Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, and beyond.

The Guinness Premiership joins an ESPN programming lineup that is rich in top-quality, exclusive sports. Launched in August, ESPN features top live football from around the world (Barclays Premier League, FA Cup, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, UEFA Europa League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Liga, German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese Liga, Russian Premier League and MLS) as well as UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship, Top 14 Orange rugby, Australian Rules Football (AFL), NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and more.

Recognising the need to provide alcohol information to players, Premier Rugby and Diageo have joined forces to develop and deliver an innovative attitudes to alcohol programme to every player and manager in the Guinness Premiership, achieving extremely positive results.

The programme has been designed to inform participants about alcohol and its effects on the body and behaviour, making them more aware of the choices they make when drinking.

Based on the DrinkiQ programme created by premium drinks company, Diageo, the programme was tailored by Premier Rugby specifically to connect with rugby players around scenarios and issues that are directly relevant to their health, career and life as a professional athlete.

All 12 Guinness Premiership clubs – 716 players and management in total – have now attended sessions run during the last two months and the response has been overwhelmingly positive to this first ever league-wide alcohol programme:

• 94% of players and 97% of management said they learnt something from the session .
• 91% of players and 97% of management would recommend the training to other players.
• 82% of players and 87% of management believed that the programme had been very good or excellent.

Martin Corry, former Leicester Tigers and England captain, who was involved in developing the programme to meet the needs of professional rugby players in the UK, said: “The programme has really opened the eyes of the rugby world to the effects of alcohol on the body and the impact of drinking too much on your performance. These are the sorts of issues that resonate with the players, so we are really speaking to them in their world to encourage them to assess their attitudes to alcohol. Before taking part in the programme, many players didn’t realise that overdoing it on a night out can impair your performance the next day and increase the risk of injury – a major consideration in a competitive sport.”

Ugo Monye of Harlequins and England said, “I enjoyed the session we had here at Harlequins and found it hugely educational and thought-provoking. As a professional athlete it’s essential to be aware what kind of effects alcohol can have on the body.”

Gerry Sutcliffe, Minister for Sport at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport added: “I applaud Premier Rugby’s moves to talk to players about responsible drinking and the impact that alcohol abuse could have on their health and professional careers. I am pleased that Premier Rugby, the Rugby Players’ Association and the clubs are working closely together on this and that coaches and managers are involved, who are important in imbedding the right type of culture in clubs.”

Phil Winstanley, Rugby Director at Premier Rugby said, “As employers, the clubs recognise the importance of their athletes being properly informed on the effects of alcohol on the body. We looked into using the DrinkiQ programme developed by Diageo and tailored it specifically for rugby players. I’d like to thank Diageo for their support. We’re extremely pleased with the results.”

During the sessions, players and managers gain a greater understanding of the effect of alcohol on the body and the potential dangers of misuse both from a health perspective and from the perspective of a professional athlete. The players are encouraged to discuss their personal experiences of alcohol in a safe environment and are given rugby specific scenarios in breakout groups, identifying how behaviour can deteriorate with irresponsible drinking but also looking at strategies to ensure that they approach their nights out in a responsible manner.

Ron Ainsbury, who developed the DRINKiQ programme for Diageo said: “DRINKiQ was designed to provide our 20,000 employees with information to make the right decisions about drinking so that they can enjoy alcohol responsibly. Sportsmen and women are important role models in today’s society so it’s great to see Premiership rugby teams responding so well to the sessions. I hope that other sporting associations will follow Premier Rugby’s example in recognising the importance of ensuring their players are aware of the facts about alcohol and its effects.”

This weekend (5th and 6th December) fans at all Guinness Premiership matches will also be reminded to drink responsibly as part of the Guinness Premiership’s Responsible Drinking Weekend and Diageo’s ‘bite to eat’ programme. A variety of activities will be happening at matches including giving free pies to supporters to highlight the importance of eating between drinks and inviting fans to take part in a ‘co-ordination challenge’ to bring the impact of excessive drinking to life. They will also be offered a free bottle of water after the game to encourage them to drink water between alcoholic drinks.

The match was originally scheduled for Friday January 1st, but the move has been made possible by Watford being drawn away from home in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

“Stadium capacity is the number one issue in our league, which is why clubs like Gloucester Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and Worcester Warriors have expanded in recent seasons to take advantage of the growing popularity of the sport.

“The plans Keith Barwell and the board have announced are ambitious ones and should help cement Northampton Saints as a powerful presence in a town with a fine rugby heritage. The club has been playing on the Franklin’s Gardens site for over a century and they should be encouraged to maintain the traditions and history that are such a big part of the Saints. It is the kind of model that could well be adopted by other clubs as we see the interest in rugby continue to grow.”