Sky Sports will show all 24 teams and almost 24 hours of exclusively live European rugby union coverage in one weekend during the first round of the Heineken Cup.
Viewers can enjoy 45 live televised fixtures from the first four rounds of the 2013/2014 Heineken Cup beginning on October 11, including every British and Irish team exclusively live at least three times in the first four rounds.
Each of the first four rounds will see up to 12 live ties across Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Sky Sports HD channels and on the red button.
For the first time, all 12 fixtures over the first weekend of the pool stages will be shown live on Sky Sports and in one of the first live matches of the season, Ulster take on Premiership champions Leicester.
At the same time viewers will be able to watch last year’s European semi-finalists Saracens face Connacht and Toulouse face Italian side Zebre.
Saturday, October 11, will see six matches throughout the day with Edinburgh against Munster and the Ospreys taking on RaboDirect PRO12 champions, Leinster.
Reigning Heineken Cup champions Toulon begin the defence of their title on the Sunday when they welcome Glasgow in their first match of the European season.
Gus Williamson, executive producer, Sky Sports rugby union said: “This summer has been fantastic for rugby union fans and now the Lions have returned victorious, we can’t wait for the exciting new European season to start.
“The opening weekend is going to be immense with all 24 teams shown live. Add this to an unprecedented schedule from the international and domestic game and it’s going to be an incredible rugby season for Sky Sports viewers.”
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all of Sky’s Heineken Cup matches online through the innovative Sky Sports Event Centre.
Available via the Sky Sports website, all Sky’s live matches are available simultaneously and all tries can be viewed as they happen with ‘Try Alert’.
With Match Centre, any single moment from any game can be accessed and users can pause, replay and watch the action in slow-motion whilst keeping up to date with stats and information as the matches happen.
Viewers can also keep up-to-date live across mobile devices with Sky Go, plus 24/7 coverage is available on skysports.com, plus the breaking news, views and scores round the clock on Sky Sports News HD.
Highlights, analysis and a comprehensive round-up of the weekend’s matches will also be shown on European Rugby Special every Sunday during the tournament.
OPENING LIVE HEINEKEN CUP MATCHES ON SKY SPORTS
Round 1 Friday 11th October Connacht v Saracens – 20:00 Toulouse v Zebre – 20:00 Ulster v Leicester – 20:00 Saturday 12th October Edinburgh v Munster – 13:35 Treviso v Montpellier – 13.35 Harlequins v Scarlets – 15:40 Castres v Northampton – 15:40 Ospreys v Leinster – 18:00 Gloucester v Perpignan – 18:00 Sunday 13th October Exeter v Cardiff Blues – 12:45 Toulon v Glasgow Warriors – 15:00 Racing Metro v Clermont Auvergne – 20:00 Round 2 Friday 18th October Saracens v Toulouse – 19:45 Leicester Tigers v Treviso – 20:00 Saturday 19th October Cardiff Blues v Toulon – 13:35 Zebre v Connacht – 13:35 Leinster v Castres – 15:40 Montpellier v Ulster – 15:40 Munster v Gloucester – 18:00 Scarlets v Racing Metro – 18:00 Sunday 20th October Northampton v Ospreys – 12:45 Perpignan v Edinburgh – 12:45 Clermont Auvergne v Harlequins – 15:00 Round 3 Friday 6th December Cardiff Blues v Glasgow – 20:00 Castres v Ospreys – 20:00 Saturday 7th December Exeter v Toulon – 13:35 Zebre v Saracens – 13:35 Clermont Auvergne v Scarlets – 13:35 Racing Metro v Harlequins – 15:40 Northampton v Leinster – 18:00 Ulster v Treviso – 18:00 Sunday 8th December Munster v Perpignan – 12:45 Leicester v Montpellier – 15:00 Toulouse v Connacht – 15:00 Round 4 Friday 13th December Ospreys v Castres – 20:00 Glasgow v Cardiff Blues – 20:00 Saturday 14th December Treviso v Ulster – 13:35 Toulon v Exeter – 13:35 Scarlets v Clermont Auvergne – 15:40 Perpignan v Munster – 15:40 Connacht v Toulouse – 18:00 Leinster v Northampton – 18:00 Sunday 15th December Harlequins v Racing Metro – 12:45 Gloucester v Edinburgh – 15:00 Montpellier v Leicester – 15:00
