Rugby League World Cup 2026 on TV: Schedule, coverage and live stream details
The Rugby League World Cup 2026 takes centre stage across October and November as nations head Down Under in the hope of getting their hands on silverware.
Co-hosts Australia will hope to defend the men's and women's titles on home turf, after wins four years ago, while England make the long journey to the Southern Hemisphere as the holders in the wheelchair event.
Whoever ends up with medals around their necks, viewers are guaranteed plenty of exciting and high-tempo action where both power and finesse are required for success.
Over the next month, heroes will rise, dreams will be crushed, and legacies will be written as teams look to write their name into the history books.
UK viewers will notice a difference to the coverage of this year's tournament but you can still tune to see the best rugby league players in the world on show.
Radio Times brings you the complete Rugby League World Cup 2026 TV schedule in the UK, including every game you can watch live.
Premier Sports is the exclusive broadcast partner of the Rugby League World Cup 2026 in the UK.
The platform, which had the rights in 2013 and 2017, will show all 18 men's World Cup fixtures live, England matches from the women's and wheelchair tournaments, as well as the semi-finals and finals from both those tournaments. The majority of matches will be shown on Premier Sports 1 and Premier Sports 2.
A subscription is required and starts from £12.99 per month. Subscribers can tune in to Premier Sports on TV, online or on a variety of devices including laptops, smartphones and tablets via their app.
The BBC is no longer the broadcast home of the Rugby League World Cup, having opted against bidding for the broadcast rights.
Rugby League World Cup 2026 TV Schedule
All UK time. Subject to change.
Men's
Thursday 15 October
Group stage: Australia v New Zealand (10:05am) Premier Sports 2
Friday 16 October
Group stage: Samoa v France (7:45am) Premier Sports 2
Saturday 17 October
Group stage: Papua New Guinea v Lebanon (5:25am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: England v Tonga (10:05am) Premier Sports 1
Sunday 18 October
Group stage: Fiji v Cook Islands (6:05am) Premier Sports 2
Friday 23 October
Group stage: Tonga v Lebanon (10:05am) Premier Sports 2
Saturday 24 October
Group stage: Papua New Guinea v Samoa (5:25am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: England v France (7:35am) Premier Sports 1
Sunday 25 October
Group stage: New Zealand v Cook Islands (5:05am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: Australia v Fiji (9:05am) Premier Sports 2
Friday 30 October
Group stage: England v Papua New Guinea (9:05am) Premier Sports 1
Saturday 31 October
Group stage: New Zealand v Fiji (4:45am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: Australia v Cook Islands (9:05am) Premier Sports 2
Sunday 1 November
Group stage: Lebanon v France (6:50am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: Tonga v Samoa (9:05am) Premier Sports TBC
Saturday 7 November
Semi-final: TBC v TBC (9:05am) Premier Sports TBC
Sunday 8 November
Semi-final: TBC v TBC (9:05am) Premier Sports TBC
Sunday 15 November
Final: TBC v TBC (8:35am) Premier Sports TBC
Women's
Friday 16 October
Group stage: Australia Women v Samoa Women (10:05am) Premier Sports 2
Saturday 17 October
Group stage: Papua New Guinea Women v France Women (3:15am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: England Women v Wales Women (7:35am) Premier Sports 1
Sunday 18 October
Group stage: New Zealand Women v Fiji Women (3:50am) Premier Sports 2
Friday 23 October
Group stage: Samoa Women v Wales Women (7:50am) Premier Sports 2
Saturday 24 October
Group stage: Fiji Women v Papua New Guinea Women (3:15am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: Australia Women v England Women (10:05am) Premier Sports 1
Sunday 25 October
Group stage: New Zealand Women v France Women (2:50am) Premier Sports 2
Friday 30 October
Group stage: England Women v Samoa Women (6:50am) Premier Sports 1
Saturday 31 October
Group stage: Fiji Women v France Women (2:35am) Premier Sports 2
Group stage: New Zealand Women v Papua New Guinea Women (6:35am) Premier Sports 2
Sunday 1 November
Group stage: Australia Women v Wales Women (4:45am) Premier Sports TBC
Saturday 7 November
Semi-final: TBC v TBC (6:55am) Premier Sports TBC
Sunday 8 November
Semi-final: TBC v TBC (6:55am) Premier Sports TBC
Sunday 15 November
Final: TBC v TBC (5:15am) Premier Sports TBC
Wheelchair
Friday 30 October
Group stage: Ireland Wheelchair v USA Wheelchair (2am) Premier Sports 1
Group stage: England Wheelchair v Wales Wheelchair (4:30am) Premier Sports 1
Saturday 31 October
Group stage: France Wheelchair v Scotland Wheelchair (4am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: Australia Wheelchair v New Zealand Wheelchair (6:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Tuesday 3 November
Group stage: France Wheelchair v New Zealand Wheelchair (12am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: Australia Wheelchair v Scotland Wheelchair (2:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: Ireland Wheelchair v Wales Wheelchair (5am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: England Wheelchair v USA Wheelchair (7:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Friday 6 November
Group stage: Scotland Wheelchair v New Zealand Wheelchair (12am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: Wales Wheelchair v USA Wheelchair (2:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: England Wheelchair v Ireland Wheelchair (6am) Premier Sports TBC
Group stage: France Wheelchair v Australia Wheelchair (8:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Monday 9 November
Ranking semi-final: TBC v TBC (12am) Premier Sports TBC
Ranking semi-final: TBC v TBC (2:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Tuesday 10 November
Seventh-place final: TBC v TBC (6am) Premier Sports TBC
Fifth-place final: TBC v TBC (8:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Thursday 12 November
Semi-final: TBC v TBC (12am) Premier Sports TBC
Semi-final: TBC v TBC (2:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Friday 13 November
Third-place play-off: TBC v TBC (6am) Premier Sports TBC
Final: (8:30am) Premier Sports TBC
Premier Sports has exclusive live broadcast rights for the Rugby League World Cup 2026, which begins on 15 October. Subscriptions start at £12.99 per month.
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Authors
Ned is a sports writer at RadioTimes.com. He has covered a host of sports from EFL football, international cricket and golf all the way through to bike polo and triathlon.
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