Premier Sports

Doesn't look like much if you are a rugby fan, especially if you look at the games tomorrow on the TV guide. Maybe this is a taster to get you to subscribe to the other channels, the other 2 channels were never going to be given for free because of the other content they carry.

Premier Sports created the rugby channel to provide overspill capacity when they won a 3year contract to show European Rugby Union. On busy pool-stage weekends there is the occasional live match shown, but the majority of live games are indeed on PS1 & PS2 which remain subscription based.

I suspect PS are treating the channel similarly to how Sky Sports manages Mix.

It's a "taster" or "teaser" channel, the same as Sky Mix (available on all free platforms) & Sky Sports Mix (available to Sky Subscribers who don't take sports subs).

It is free to get you interested. Of course all the high value stuff they have paid for to host, you have to pay for to get. Pretty simple economics really.

Also confused by it, as the notification said  Premier Sports Rugby is now available to all Virgin TV customers at no extra cost! Enjoy top-class live rugby matches.......  We didnt expect to switch to channel 553 and see a match we quite wanted to see have the word subscribe now on it, and others didnt have this!