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.<\/p>\n
TG4 also announced at their season launch in the Sportsground today that the significant contract to produce the broadcaster\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch, R\u00f3n\u00e1n \u00d3 Coisdealbha TG4\u2019s head of Sport says:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted to be partnering with Iris Productions to produce our flagship rugby programme Rugba\u00ed 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kieran Hartigan, Executive Producer Iris Productions added:<\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more excited to get into the new season. Having produced TG4\u2019s 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. \u00a0We are passionate about rugby and look forward to bringing all the drama of this fantastic championship to TG4\u2019s audience over the coming three seasons. We are particularly excited to be embarking on this journey with NEP as our facilities provider and can\u2019t wait to leverage their unparalleled live sports production experience to deliver ever more engaging programming to Irish audiences.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In all TG4 will broadcast 28 Live matches this year including all 11 of Connacht Rugby\u2019s home games including Septembers \u2018M\u00ed na Seaimp\u00edn\u00ed\u2019 and Connacht\u2019s Interprovincial clashes with Munster, Leinster & Ulster Rugby.<\/p>\n TG4 Rugba\u00ed Beo coverage will also include:<\/p>\n