Premiership Rugby has today announced two exciting new partnerships ahead of the 2017/18 season.
Virgin Atlantic has signed a two-year partnership to work closely with players and supporters to enable seamless travel across the UK and USA.
And The Times and The Sunday Times has put pen to paper on a three-year partnership that will see the newspapers use their worlds class sports journalists to provide expert analysis and video content for supporters and readers, with subscribers of both papers also being able to make the most of exclusive ticket offers and events.
Paul Sherrell, Premiership Rugby’s head of partnerships, says that both of these partnerships are important for the league’s development.
“These are important partnerships,” he commented. “Aviva Premiership Rugby is in great health after a record breaking season when we saw a rise in match attendances, live TV audiences, tries and points we are ready to move to the next stage of our development and partners like The Times and The Sunday Times will be crucial in that journey.
“Meanwhile we share so many of the same values as Virgin Atlantic and we look forward to a great partnership with one of Britain’s biggest success stories.
“The global reach of Aviva Premiership Rugby has been boosted over the years and a new broadcast deal with NBC Sports in America means that 30 young American players and coaches will earn Premiership Rugby Scholarships in 2018 where they will be visiting the UK, and the new partnership with Virgin Atlantic will be key in making this happen.”
Alex Butler, sports editor of The Sunday Times, said: "We are delighted to be in partnership with Premiership Rugby. The sport is enormously important to our readers who demand high standards from our experienced team of rugby writers. This agreement will help our journalists provide the very best coverage and analysis."
And Emma Jones, Vice President, Sales, at Virgin Atlantic, added: “We are delighted to have an official partnership with Premiership Rugby for the next two years. This is a really exciting time for both brands, and with Aviva Premiership Rugby becoming a globally recognised programme; hence seeing an increase in their travel requirements between the UK and the US, we are proud to be their official airline partner.”
