Live Super League games will be shown on the BBC for the first time as part of a three-year deal struck between the broadcaster and Rugby League Commercial.

The BBC will show a total of 15 live games during the 2024 campaign – starting with Wigan’s trip to Castleford on February 17 – and the World Club Challenge between Wigan and Penrith the following week, both of which will be on BBC Two.

RL Commercial’s managing director Rhodri Jones said: “This is a landmark agreement for Rugby League. Securing live free-to-air coverage on the BBC for the Super League competition as part of this reimagined partnership, means there will be more visibility than ever before.”

The BBC will also continue to broadcast at least one Challenge Cup match from each round, culminating in the Wembley final on June 8, along with games in the women’s and wheelchair competitions.

The deal effectively replaces the previous two-year deal with Channel 4, which expired at the end of last season.

Sky Sports extended and expanded its own deal with Super League in October, which will see every match covered live via a combination of Sky Sports channels and the company’s new streaming platform, Super League Plus.

All 64 matches in this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup will be broadcast live on terrestrial TV in the UK after the BBC and ITV clinched a joint rights deal.

The move, which includes live audio commentary on BBC 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra, comes after FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) agreed to extend their existing media rights partnership.

The BBC and ITV will share the matches, including England’s Group D openers against Haiti, Denmark and China, with the exception of the final, which will be broadcast on both BBC One and ITV1.

The tournament, which is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, kicks off on July 20 when New Zealand face Norway in Auckland, while England’s first match is against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “We have shown every Women’s World Cup on the BBC since 1999 and we are happy to extend our partnership with FIFA for the upcoming tournament.

“The growth of the women’s game is extraordinary.”

ITV will split games between ITV1 and ITV4, with catch-up on ITVX.

ITV director of Sport Niall Sloane said: “”We’re delighted to be able to bring comprehensive coverage of the Women’s World Cup, free to air to our audiences with both live and highlights broadcasts across ITV and ITVX.”

The new deal between FIFA and the EBU expands on a previous commitment to free-to-air broadcast across the continent, adding the five major markets of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as Ukraine.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the deal “a huge promotional and exposure opportunity for women’s football, which is a top priority for us in line with FIFA’s commitment to long-term development of the sport.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to play a key part in the BBC’s cricket coverage this summer after being cleared of making a racist remark earlier this year.

A Cricket Discipline Commission panel found a charge that Vaughan had used racist or discriminatory language towards a group of players of Asian ethnicity before a match for Yorkshire in 2009 not proven.

The BBC confirmed Vaughan would be a guest on the ‘Today at the Test’ highlights programme, initially for the match against Ireland starting on June 1.

The corporation also confirmed Vaughan would be a summariser on the Test Match Special (TMS) radio programme throughout the summer.