ESPN to Broadcast NRL Finals in UK

Rugby League fans in the UK & Ireland will have the opportunity to see the National Rugby League Grand Final broadcast live on ESPN at 7am on Sunday 4th October. ESPN will also broadcast the 1st Preliminary Final live at 10.45am on Friday 25th September, and the 2nd Preliminary Final at 3pm on Saturday 26th September.

“We are proud to have secured ESPN as an international broadcasting partner so the many thousands of Rugby League fans in the UK can watch all the drama and excitement unfold in the lead up to the culmination of the 2009 NRL season”, NRL Chief Operating Officer Graham Annesley said today.

“The NRL Grand Final is one of the biggest events in Australian sport and given the number of Aussies currently living or travelling in the UK, combined with the large local following of the English Super League competition, I have no doubt there will be huge interest in these games”. Annesley added.  

As a further service to fans all games of the Finals Series will also be streamed live on-line by Telstra, the NRL’s internet partner. 

The NRL joins ESPN’s growing list of live sport, which includes 46 Barclays Premier League, 30 Clydesdale Bank Premier League, UEFA Europa League and up to 80 Italian Serie A live matches. The channel also airs live German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivisie, DTM – German Touring Car Championship, Australian Rules Football, TOP 14 Orange French Rugby Union well as a host of other international sports and a wide-range of premium U.S. sports.

ESPN is available on Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Top Up TV, Tiscali and UPC (in Ireland) on the following channel numbers:

Sky:                     ESPN (channel 417), ESPN HD (channel 442)

Virgin Media:       ESPN (channel 529), ESPN HD (channel 530)

BT Vision:           ESPN (channel 34)

Top UP TV:         ESPN (channel 34)

Tiscali:                  ESPN (channel 555)

UPC (in Ireland)   ESPN (channel 407)

For subscription information, please visit: www.espn.co.uk or call 0844 257 7442

www.espn.co.uk

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