After a successful inaugural season in 2016, the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) will now enjoy widespread television coverage for at least the next four years.
All bar one of the 15 games of the ARC are to be broadcast across three different subscription television channels, to viewers in the six participating nations, enabling supporters of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Uruguay and the USA to keep abreast of their team’s progress between 3 February and 4 March.
Starting in February, the ARC will be played in 11 different cities, with one venue still to be confirmed, and the tournament's organisers are confident that the competition will continue to go from strength to strength.
“This tournament has caught the imagination of fans and broadcasters after only on season. The importance it has for the six unions involved is also clear for all to see,” said World Rugby Vice-Chairman Agustin Pichot, the Chairman of Americas Rugby.
“The Americas Rugby Championship is a key component in World Rugby’s strategy for the growth of the game in the Americas and we are delighted that fans will be able to watch these matches across the whole continent.”
ESPN Sur will broadcast 12 matches live on linear for all of South America except Brazil, where ESPN Brazil will be screening their team’s own games.
The USA Eagles' home and away games will be carried live on RIM on The Rugby Channel with all the other matches available on delay. ESPN will also carry the Eagles matches on delay in the USA and all other matches live.
In Canada, TSN will carry games live in Canada on TSN Go with the Chile v Canada game, at this stage, being produced locally and distributed by Rugby Canada via online streaming.
Greg Peters, Chairman of the Americas Rugby Championship Advisory Board, added: “We are delighted to have secured live coverage for all of the continent, with games played in Ushuaia in the deepest South all the way to Langford in Canada’s West coast; it will allow us to showcase what is a great tournament that is growing in profile.
“We must thank the support and considerable financial investment of ESPN Sur who will act as host broadcaster and will have the games in all of South America, including games on ESPN Brasil.”
Federico Reyna, Director of Acquisitions and Digital Media for ESPN Sur, agreed on the growth of the ARC and the value it will bring to his sports network. “This tournament is certainly aligned to the ample coverage ESPN gives to rugby in South America,” he said.
"Coverage of the Americas Rugby Championship, with guaranteed maximum production quality, will continue to be an important part of our multi-platform programming and reaffirms our commitment to rugby in Argentina and the region.”
Further information regarding television coverage will be made available closer to match dates.
ARC 2017 fixtures (all kick-off times are local)
Friday, 3 February
Brazil v Chile – Estadio do Pacaembu, Sao Paulo. Kick-off: 20:15
Saturday, 4 February
Canada v Argentina XV – Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC. Kick-off: 17:00
United States v Uruguay – Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas. Kick-off: 15:00 (central)
Saturday, 11 February
Argentina XV v Uruguay – Estadio Villa Mitre, Bahía Blanca. Kick-off: 19:10
USA v Brazil – Dell Diamond, Round Rock, Austin, Texas. Kick-off: 18:00 (central)
Canada v Chile – Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC. Kick-off: 17:00
Saturday 18 February
Chile v Argentina XV
Uruguay v Brazil – Campus Municipal de Maldonado. Kick-off: 20:00
Canada v USA – Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, BC. Kick-off: 17:00
Saturday 25 February
Argentina XV v Brazil – Estadio Municipal Agustín Pichot, Ushuaia. Kick-off: 17:40
Uruguay v Canada – Campus Municipal de Maldonado. Kick-off: 20:00
Chile v USA
Friday, 3 March
Brazil v Canada – Estadio do Pacaembú, Sao Paulo. Kick-off: 19:45
Saturday, 4 March
Argentina XV v USA – Estadio Municipal, Comodoro Rivadavia. Kick-off: 17:40
Uruguay v Chile – Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo. Kick-off: 16:00