Amazon Prime Video and Channel 4 will share live coverage of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup this November and December.
The newly formed competition will be the first competitive Autumn international rugby union event of its kind and the first full tournament after a six-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sixteen matches will be played across four consecutive weekends and feature the Six Nations – England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy – and two guest teams – Georgia and Fiji.
The Autumn Nations Cup starts as a round-robin format featuring two groups, each containing three of the Six Nations teams and one guest team, concluding with a knock-out finals weekend.
The majority of matches will be broadcast exclusively live on Prime Video, as the streaming service makes its first foray into live rugby union coverage.
Selected matches will be broadcast free-to-air on Channel 4, including exclusive coverage of the opening match between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium on 13 November.
Apart from Ireland’s three pool matches, all of the other 13 matches will be available watch live only on Prime Video, while both broadcaster’s will show live coverage of the clash between England and Ireland on 21 November, due to Channel 4’s pre-existing deal to cover Ireland’s autumn internationals.
Prime Video’s exclusive live matches will include seismic clashes including Wales against England, as well as all matches on finals weekend featuring the top performing teams from both groups.
The streaming service has announced that Gabby Logan and Mark Durden-Smith will lead its presenting team throughout the tournament, with pundits including Bryan Habana, Sam Warburton, Dylan Hartley, Jamie Roberts, Simon Zebo Topsy Ojo, Scott Quinnell, Serge Betsen and John Barclay.
Match commentary will be led by Conor McNamara, Andrew Cotter, Jamie Lyall and Nick Heath, alongside David Flatman, Paul Grayson, Jim Hamilton, Shane Horgan, Rory Lawson and Danielle Waterman.
Commenting on Prime Video’s entry into rugby union coverage, Alex Green, managing director of Prime Video Sport Europe, said:
“We are excited and privileged to work with Six Nations Rugby and the eight participating unions in to bring this new tournament to viewers across the UK on Prime Video.
“It is a unique event bringing a new level of competitiveness to Autumn international rugby and will offer something back to all the fans who have missed top-level rugby. We will be offering mouth-watering clashes featuring the top international teams in the Northern Hemisphere exclusively to UK Prime members at no additional charge to their membership.”
The Autumn Nations Cup joins a growing line-up of live sports coverage on Prime Video UK, including Premier League football, ATP, WTA and US Open tennis, plus NFL Thursday Night Football.
Amazon’s arrival into rugby union comes after Sky Sports’ long-standing deal with the RFU to show England’s autumn internationals, as well as similar TV deals for Scotland and Wales’ autumn matches, came to an end.
Ben Morel, chief executive of Six Nations Rugby Ltd added:
“We are delighted to welcome Amazon Prime Video on board as a broadcast partner for the Autumn Nations Cup, and to have such a major global player demonstrate their commitment to rugby is a tremendous endorsement for our game.
“Amazon Prime Video has already established a reputation for delivering high level production in live sport which we have seen through their coverage of the Premier League, ATP and WTA Tennis, and NFL. We are hugely excited by their initial plans for the Autumn Nations Cup and are confident rugby lovers will thoroughly enjoy the coverage.”
Prime Video’s Autumn Nations Cup coverage will be produced by Sunset+Vine, with their Welsh division – Sunset+Vine Cymru – in charge of Channel 4’s coverage.
Channel 4’s three live free-to-air matches will presented by Lee McKenzie, with pundits including Rory Best, Sam Warburton and Chris Ashton, while match commentary comes from Miles Harrison, Shane Williams, Nolli Waterman and Jerry Flannery, and pitchside reports will come from Ed Jackson.
In addition to its live coverage, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights from all the rounds of the eight-team tournament, including the finals weekend, on Sunday evenings at 11pm, presented by Ayo Akinwolere.
On teaming up with Amazon Prime for the new competition, Channel 4’s head of sport Pete Andrews said:
“We’re delighted to have teamed up with Amazon to bring rugby fans this fantastic tournament. It’s thrilling to be offering first class live international rugby on Channel 4 and it’s great to be launching the tournament live on a Friday night with Ireland v Wales. The England Ireland match-up the following week is a mouth-watering prospect live on Channel 4.
In addition to Prime Video and Channel 4, S4C will broadcast Welsh language coverage of every Wales match throughout the tournament.
Scroll down below to see full details of when and where to watch the Autumn Nations Cup 2020 on Prime Video and Channel 4.
For a full list of all forthcoming major live rugby union matches on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated rugby union TV listings page.
Be thankful these lads are only delivering rugby 📦❌
8️⃣ teams, 4️⃣ weekends, 1️⃣ winner #AmazonDeliversTheRugby LIVE on #PrimeVideo 🏉 pic.twitter.com/aEyznDkUQC
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 10, 2020
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FRIDAY 13th NOVEMBER
Ireland v Wales
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19:00 |
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SATURDAY 14th NOVEMBER
Italy v Scotland
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12:45 |
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England v Georgia
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15:00 |
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SUNDAY 15th NOVEMBER
France v Fiji
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15:15 |
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SATURDAY 21st NOVEMBER
Italy v Fiji
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12:45 |
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England v Ireland
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15:00 |
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Wales v Georgia
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17:15 |
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SUNDAY 22nd NOVEMBER
Scotland v France
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15:15 |
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SATURDAY 28th NOVEMBER
Scotland v Fiji
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13:45 |
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Wales v England
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16:00 |
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France v Italy
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20:00 |
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SUNDAY 29th NOVEMBER
Ireland v Georgia
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14:00 |
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SATURDAY 5th DECEMBER
Georgia v Fiji
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12:00 |
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Ireland v Scotland
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14:15 |
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Wales v Fiji
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16:45 |
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SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER
England v France
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14:00 |
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