Blaze Brings Live Elior Champ Rugby to Free-To-Air Television for the First Time Ever

From Sunday 20 September, rugby fans across the UK and Ireland can watch nine live Elior Champ Rugby fixtures on BLAZE, Hearst Networks’ free TV brand, or stream them via the BLAZE app, as part of a new pilot partnership with rights holder ClubberTV.

Elior Champ Rugby is the proving ground of English rugby. It is the stage where clubs battle for supremacy, fierce rivalries ignite, and future stars begin their journeys. Rooted in communities across England, the competition delivers elite performance alongside the passion, tradition and unpredictability that define the very best of rugby.

Making the competition free to watch every week gives its clubs, communities and emerging stars a national platform, allowing more fans than ever before to experience the drama and intensity of Champ Rugby.

Live coverage begins on Sunday 20 September as Cornish Pirates host Doncaster Knights in a standout opening fixture between the league’s two most geographically distant clubs, separated by almost 400 miles. Both sides enter the season with fresh momentum: Pirates following new investment from an American private equity firm and TV favourite Nick Knowles, and Doncaster under new Director of Rugby Dean Richards, working alongside Sir Ian McGeechan, both British and Irish Lions legends.

Coverage starts at 3.30pm ahead of the 4pm kick-off, with team news, interviews, half-time analysis and post-match reaction. Matches will continue live every Sunday in the same timeslot through to 22 November, with a one-week break on 25 October.

Fixtures available below and here: www.blaze.tv/rugby

Heather Jones, Chief Creative Officer, EMEA, at Hearst Networks, said: “Champ Rugby reflects everything BLAZE stands for. It’s exciting, fiercely competitive and deeply rooted in local communities, and we’re delighted to bring live rugby to free-to-air audiences. We know viewers increasingly value live experiences, and this partnership gives more fans the opportunity to discover one of English rugby’s best-kept sporting secrets every Sunday afternoon.”

Simon Gillham OBE, Chair of Champ Rugby Board, said: “This is fantastic news for Elior Champ Rugby and will showcase the best of the league to a wider audience. We want our competition to be accessible to as many audiences as possible, and this extra offering now makes Champ Rugby the only weekly free-to-air rugby on English television. I’d like to thank ClubberTV and Hearst Networks for their commitment and support to our game.”

To watch Elior Champ Rugby on BLAZE, viewers can tune in on Freeview channel 64, Sky channel 156, Sky Glass / Sky Stream channel 169 (UK) / 162 (ROI), Freesat channel 161, Freely channel 41 and Virgin TV channel 174, or stream live via the free BLAZE app.

Celebrating its 10-year anniversary this September, BLAZE has built a strong heritage as Hearst Networks’ first free-to-air brand, connecting audiences through distinctive factual entertainment and live programming, including previous sport broadcasts such as darts.

Live Elior Champ Rugby Fixtures on BLAZE:

• 20 Sep, Cornish Pirates v Doncaster Knights
• 27 Sep, Doncaster Knights v Hartpury
• 4 Oct, Blackheath v Doncaster Knights
• 11 Oct, Ealing Trailfinders v Hartpury
• 18 Oct, Richmond v Rotherham Titans
• BREAK
• 1 Nov, Rotherham Titans v Cornish Pirates
• 8 Nov, Hartpury v Chinnor
• 15 Nov, Worcester Warriors v Ampthill
• 22 Nov, Nottingham v Cornish Pirates

For more information about Champ Rugby on BLAZE visit www.blaze.tv/rugby for images click here

About BLAZE

BLAZE is the UK’s free-to-air entertainment channel, home to larger-than-life characters, real-life entertainment, UFOs and the unexplained, and live Champ Rugby. Home to hit series including Junk & Disorderly, Storage Wars, Hardcore Pawn and Ancient Aliens, BLAZE celebrates people who take on every challenge with curiosity, determination and a smile.

About Hearst Networks

Hearst Networks, a subsidiary of Hearst, owns and operates premium factual entertainment brands including The HISTORY Channel, Crime+Investigation, BLAZE and COSMO across the UK, Nordics, Benelux, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Germany, Italy and Spain. At Hearst Networks EMEA, we share stories that matter, inspiring and entertaining audiences with hit franchises such as The Curse of Oak Island, The First 48 and History’s Greatest Mysteries, alongside original commissions including The Hunt for Baltic Gold, Nameless Monsters and The Royal Kill List. For more information, please visit www.hearstnetworks.com

About Elior Champ Rugby

Elior Champ Rugby is the professional second tier of rugby union in England. Featuring 14 teams across the country, it is English rugby’s biggest supporter and is the crucial link in the pathway from grassroots to the top of the game. On the field, talent is handed an opportunity at the elite level, off the field, Champ Rugby lives for the growth of the game, connecting people and communities.

For further information: www.champrugby.com