Guinness PRO14 goes direct to rugby fans with OTT streaming service

The Guinness PRO14 has become the first major rugby union competition to launch its own OTT video platform, in partnership with StreamAMG.

Guinness PRO14 games were successfully streamed on social media to selected territories this season. Now, supporters in selected international territories will be able to watch all the action from across the Championship live via an official Guinness direct-to-consumer platform, PRO14 TV. The service launched in time for the climax of the season – the Guinness PRO14 Finals Series.

The service is now available at www.pro14.tv and fans will be able to choose from a range of packages. Pay-per-view passes for individual games will be priced at €3.99 (£3.46), with a 72-hour weekend pass for Friday, Saturday and Sunday fixtures available for €6.99.

Traditional monthly and seasonal options will be launched for the 2019/20 season. In addition to live, chargeable match coverage, the service will offer free, registration-led access to a comprehensive library of clips, highlights, full-match replays and a range of exclusive content.

Dermot Rigley, commercial director of PRO14 Rugby, said: “Launching our own OTT video platform to reach fans around the world was a logical next step for us as we experience more demand for the Guinness PRO14 than ever before. To be the first major rugby union tournament to launch an OTT service is in keeping with our commitment to innovation and a commitment to embrace new technologies.

“Since expanding the Championship into South Africa in 2017, we have experienced significant growth across all metrics, including attendances, social media engagement and, of course, signing record-setting broadcast deals earlier this year.

“We are looking forward to bringing the excitement of Guinness PRO14 rugby directly to supporters of our clubs. To deliver this we are extremely pleased to be working with StreamAMG, who have a strong track record in the sector. Their technical expertise was very much in evidence throughout the selection process.”

The service will be based on StreamAMG’s MediaPlatform video management platform, and will incorporate the CloudMatrix feed-based distribution platform. StreamAMG’s proprietary transaction platform, CloudPay, will handle end-user payments and subscription management.