International Rugby League (IRL) chair Troy Grant has defended the controversial decision to give broadcast rights for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup to Premier Sports, and criticised the BBC for not offering any money to televise the tournament.

In a wide-ranging interview with The i Paper, Grant has also confirmed that New Zealand are set to tour England in 2027 for a Test series and plans are underway for the Ashes to be held in Australia in 2028.

Rugby league fans and figures like Prime Minister Andy Burnham have heavily criticised the decision to award the World Cup rights in the UK and Ireland to pay TV provider Premier Sports.

All 61 matches across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments of the the 2021 World Cup, which was held in the UK, were shown live and free by the BBC.

But Grant has explained that the public broadcaster actually paid nothing for the 2021 rights, and described their offer as “disappointing” for the 2026 tournament.

“We’re not a charity,” he said.

“Revenue into the game has to come from somewhere. And the reality is that in the IRL, we operate more like a not-for-profit organisation. So we’re not there to make money for ourselves.

“We’re a low-cost operation and the money we raise, we reinvest back into the participation of the game. So we have to make money. There were decisions made back for the 2021 World Cup and the broadcast was given away for a dollar.

“So the BBC got it for a dollar and then the organisers paid for production. From a commercial point of view, that’s nuts.

“People say to me, ‘Look, the broadcast numbers, the viewership for the 2021 World Cup was enormous,’ and it was.

“They say, ‘Wasn’t it successful?’ Yes, it was. Absolutely. And I’m really delighted with the numbers. I’m really grateful, but the strategy didn’t translate into growth.

"It's the best thing since sliced bread!" 🔥

AJ Brimson goes over for another superb @England_RL try 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/kPZaIzEpLa

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) October 24, 2026

“That has not translated to better uptake overall on the Super League, the premier level of the game in England. I’m not sure quality-wise Super League has got much better in the last four years, given the size of the growth and the eyeballs.

“It just hasn’t translated. And that was a big commercial decision that really whacked the organisers hard. As the IRL, we reduced our rights fee. We were prepared to take less because of the realities of Covid and the impacts and the postponement and all that.

“As I said, we’re not there to make money for our own good, just there to reinvest. So that was the reason and the rationale now was that everyone was offered the 2026 rights; the BBC were not out of the question.

“Premier Sports came in with a decent offer that I believe is affordable. I think it’s more a habitual thing where people aren’t used to paying for sport, but that’s the new world. We all pay for streaming and for £19 to get the amount of content and the quality of the content coming out of the World Cup is not a big price to pay.

“I understand times are tough for a lot of people as well. I get all that sort of stuff, but I think £19 was still a reasonable figure.

“We’re really happy with Premier Sports, disappointed that the BBC didn’t stump up, but that’s a matter for them and for them to explain to their viewers as well.”

When approached for comment by The i Paper, a BBC spokesperson said: “We must make difficult choices to deliver the savings required while continuing to serve audiences as effectively as possible.”

The BBC is providing digital highlights, live text and audio coverage of the Rugby League World Cup.

England future series plans unveiled

Grant also revealed that the New Zealand Rugby League and the Rugby Football League (RFL) are currently finalising arrangements for the Kiwis to tour England next year.

But the IRL boss has criticised the RFL for its promotion of recent tours to England by Pacific nations Tonga in 2023 and Samoa in 2024.

“We’ve been a little bit disappointed with the Samoan and Tongan tours,” he said.

“They were subsidised by the NRL, and the RFL’s promotion of those tours, to be honest, I’m not trying to be critical, was pretty average. There were complaints from the two touring teams that they had to do all the heavy lifting.

“Not that they mind doing it because they’re used to doing it here. Now I do understand there’s practicalities; there is a bit of a different landscape in the UK. So I don’t make these comments naively or without understanding some broader context, but the RFL will have to do better in the marketing, the selling of their own product.

“That’s the way they generate money. They’ve got to be the masters of their own destiny in a lot of regards. And I think they’re letting the ball pass them by on too many occasions.”

The first Ashes series since 2003 was held last year in the UK, with the Kangaroos winning 3-0 with Test matches played in London, Liverpool and Leeds. Plans are underway for the Ashes to be held down under in 2028.

“The Ashes last year was wonderful,” Grant said.

“It gave the RFL the cash injection they needed. It was very successful on all fronts. The games were a great showcasing of rugby league on the pitch as well.”