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The 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa is set to begin with a ‘warm-up’ match against Japan in Scotland tomorrow. Rugby fans in Canada and the USA have been clamoring to find out how to watch the tour, and it has not proven straightforward but we do have some answers.
NBC acquired the rights in the USA and will broadcast the tour on Peacock, their digital streaming service. It is a subscription service that costs $4.99 USD a month and includes a number of other offerings including the English Premiership.
There is one exception to the Peacock deal – it will not be broadcasting the Japan game, and at this time it does not appear the match will air anywhere in the USA. Channel 4 has exclusive broadcast rights in the UK and will be streaming for those with access to its digital channels.
Canadian viewers do have an option to watch the Japan game, but it will come at a cost. Premier Sports, a new Dublin-based company, has acquired the rights to broadcast the games in Canada. They have created a new website – premiersportslions.com– that will stream all matches from the tour with a subscription cost of $49 USD.
In addition to offering the Lions games live and on-demand, Premier Sports includes a number of extras. Lions documentaries, classic Lions games, archived content, and South Africa’s warm-up fixtures against Georgia. A mobile app will be launching on the weekend of July 5.
| DATE | PT | ET | LOCAL | OPPONENT | VENUE |
| 2021-06-26 | 07:00 | 10:00 | 15:00 | Japan | Murrayfield, Edinburgh |
| 2021-07-03 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 | Lions (SA) | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 2021-07-07 | 11:00 | 14:00 | 20:00 | Sharks | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 2021-07-10 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 | Bulls | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria |
| 2021-07-14 | 11:00 | 14:00 | 20:00 | South Africa ‘A’ | Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |
| 2021-07-17 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 | Stormers | Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |
| 2021-07-24 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 | South Africa | Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |
| 2021-07-31 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 | South Africa | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg |
| 2021-08-07 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 | South Africa | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg |
