Press

Rugby season is upon again as the Guinness PRO14 kicks off this weekend with the opening game of the championship between Cardiff Blues and reigning champions Leinster Rugby available live and free to air on TG4.

Iris Productions awarded TG4 Rugby Contract

30.08.18

The announcement in April of a continued rights deal with Guinness PRO14 means that TG4 will be the only broadcaster in Ireland providing exclusive free-to-air coverage of the recently expanded championship for the coming three years.

TG4 also announced at their season launch in the Sportsground today that the significant contract to produce the broadcaster’s rugby output has been awarded to Iris Productions for the duration of the three-year deal with Guinness PRO14. This will see the Spiddal-based production company produce over 200 hours of live, deferred and highlights coverage over the coming seasons for TG4. NEP have been selected as OB facilities provider and Riverside Television will supply uplink facilities.

Speaking at the launch, Rónán Ó Coisdealbha TG4’s head of Sport says:

“We are delighted to be partnering with Iris Productions to produce our flagship rugby programme Rugbaí Beo for the next three years. Guinness PRO14 is an important component of our schedule and we know that Iris will continue to drive audience engagement through innovation. With world class facilities providers NEP bringing a wealth of expertise in live production we are excited to see how the coverage evolves to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated sporting audience.”

Kieran Hartigan, Executive Producer Iris Productions added:

“We couldn’t be more excited to get into the new season. Having produced TG4’s offtube and highlights programmes for the past 4 years, this feels like a natural next step for Iris Productions. The Guinness PRO14 is a fantastic championship which consistently delivers world-class rugby throughout the season. We are passionate about rugby and look forward to bringing all the drama of this fantastic championship to TG4’s audience over the coming three seasons. We are particularly excited to be embarking on this journey with NEP as our facilities provider and can’t wait to leverage their unparalleled live sports production experience to deliver ever more engaging programming to Irish audiences.”

In all TG4 will broadcast 28 Live matches this year including all 11 of Connacht Rugby’s home games including Septembers ‘Mí na Seaimpíní’ and Connacht’s Interprovincial clashes with Munster, Leinster & Ulster Rugby.

TG4 Rugbaí Beo coverage will also include:

Live & Exclusive coverage of all Connacht matches against Welsh Opposition
Live Munster Rugby Matches against Welsh Opposition
Live Leinster Rugby Matches against Welsh Opposition

About Iris Productions:

Operating since 2005, Spiddal based Iris Productions have produced some of the most compelling Irish rugby documentaries, including:

Munster: The Brave & The Faithful – charting Munster Rugby’s inaugural Heineken Cup win in 2006.
Axel: Feature Documentary on the life and career of late Munster Rugby legend Anthony Foley
The West’s Awake – Double IFTA nominated behind the scenes documentary which provides a peek behind the curtain to Connacht Rugby’s first Heineken Cup campaign.

Pictures available at: https://client.inpho.ie/tg4withconnachtrugby290818