With exactly one year to go until England kick off the opening match of the tournament, BBC Sport is announcing an exclusive UK rights deal with World Rugby for live coverage of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in England.
BBC Sport will broadcast coverage of the tournament across linear channels, with every match also available to watch live on BBC iPlayer and the Sport website and app.
Live audio commentary will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra. Fans will be able to listen to 5 Live coverage on BBC Sounds, DAB radio and the BBC Sport website. The exclusive coverage deal means there will also be content across BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland.
With England currently the number one team in the world in the World Rugby rankings and already qualified, the Red Roses will be hoping to secure their crown as World Champions in front of home fans.
Nine other teams (Brazil, Canada, Fiji, France, Ireland, Japan New Zealand, South Africa and USA) have already qualified. Scotland and Wales can confirm their places at WXV later this year when the remaining qualifiers will also be determined.
BBC and World Rugby can also confirm that WXV will be available on the BBC.
Alex Kay-Jelski, Director of BBC Sport says: “Next summer is set to be a huge moment for women’s sport and following coverage of WXV and the Women’s 6 Nations Championship on the BBC we’re proud to bring audiences exclusive coverage of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 hosted in England. Big sporting moments have a unique ability to unify bringing people together and never more so when international competitions play out on home soil. And we cannot wait.”
World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin added: “We are delighted to be partnering with BBC Sport for Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 and WXV. The BBC is a massive champion of women’s rugby and women’s sport more broadly and with their multi-platform, diverse programming approach and regional reach, we look forward to making history together – the biggest, most accessible and record-breaking celebration of women’s rugby ever.”
Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 will start on 22nd August with hosts England kicking off the competition at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light. The tournament’s 10th edition will be hosted across eight nationwide locations with the final at the iconic Twickenham Stadium in London on 27th September, 2025.
BBC Sport’s rights portfolio also includes UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, Women’s Super League, the Olympic Games, The FA Cup, Wimbledon Championships, the Six Nations, the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. The BBC is a long-standing audio partner of the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups.
HM4/ZB