BBC Scotland is to bolster its commitment to live Pro12 rugby union coverage by screening regular live games on BBC Two Scotland for the first time this season.
Edinburgh’s trip to Munster in the opening round of the new-look Guinness Pro12 will be covered live on BBC Alba, the BBC’s Gaelic service, in early September.
This will be the first of 16 matches, all featuring the two Scottish Pro12 sides, to shown on either BBC Alba or BBC Two Scotland between now and early January 2015.
BBC Alba’s continued coverage of Scotland’s two premier sides will see them show coverage of 12 live matches in the first 13 rounds of the Pro12, while this season for the first time, BBC Two Scotland will also show a number of matches live, including the New Year derby match between Edinburgh and Glasgow on Friday January 2.
BBC Two Scotland’s regular coverage is expected to start next month with the Ospreys v Edinburgh match on Sunday, September 21, with Glasgow’s visit to Treviso on October 5 also on the cards.
Coverage will continue across the BBC channels in Scotland right through the season, including the live play-offs, should either of the Scottish teams reach that stage of the tournament.
In addition to those live matches on BBC Two Scotland, English language viewers will also be provided with a red button option on BBC Alba, which will offer English commentaries for the BBC Alba matches, while Gaelic viewers will also have a red button option for BBC Scotland matches.
All games will either be shown on Friday evenings with 7.35pm kick-offs or on Sunday afternoons, with coverage of all matches to be produced by independent company mneTV.
BBC Scotland’s head of sport, Ewan Angus, said: “We’re delighted to be complementing BBC ALBA’s rugby coverage and the combination of some live matches and also providing English commentaries will do just that,” he said.
BBC Alba’s head of content Alan Esslemont said: “We’re very pleased to be able to continue offering top class rugby to our viewers as we have done over the last few seasons and we have a great selection of games coming up for the first half of the season.”
Mark Dodson, Scottish Rugby Chief Executive, added: “We are delighted that BBC Scotland are to extend the television coverage of the PRO12 and that BBC ALBA will enhance their coverage by offering an English language red button option.
“BBC network have been partners of Scottish Rugby for many seasons and I want to thank them, and their colleagues here in Scotland, most sincerely, for their confidence in, and support of, our sport.””
Gregor Townsend, head coach of Glasgow Warriors, said: “We’re really excited that BBC Scotland are going to be showing some of our league games next season, along with BBC Alba, building on the excellent coverage we’ve had from BBC Alba over the last few years.
“The club is continually growing and this is great news for us and for the Guinness PRO12. We already have a record number of season ticket members and now that more supporters will be able to watch our matches live on TV, we hope to see even bigger numbers at Scotstoun this coming season to get behind the team.”
Alan Solomons, head coach of Edinburgh Rugby, added: “The PRO12 is a fantastic competition and this latest announcement is great news for all involved, and means we have an enhanced broadcast offering in keeping with the growing calibre of the competition.”
The new deal for BBC Scotland complements the Pro12′s new TV deal with Sky Sports, which kicks in from the start of the 2014/15 season and runs for four years, marking the first time that the pay-TV broadcaster has covered the league.
Sky Sports will show 30 live matches throughout each season, mainly on Saturday evenings, plus the semi-finals and the final, with the latter in conjunction with the territorial broadcaster where those games take place.
The deal will mean Pro12 games being broadcast all across the UK for the first time and ensures that 125 of the 135 games in the 2014/15 season will be shown live on television.
Alongside Sky’s coverage, the Guinness Pro12 will also continue to enjoy weekly free-to-air exposure in Wales for the next four-years, with BBC Wales and S4C covering live matches every week, while a deal for BBC Northern Ireland is expected to be confirmed shortly.
RUGBY UNION ON THE BOX – LIVE TV GAMES
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