From scrum to screen with women’s rugby
Posted on Aug 19, 2025 by Nicole Tilby
With the overall popularity of women’s sports sharply on the rise, companies like Limitless are tackling the narrative of Premiership Rugby
Words by Oliver Webb
Women’s rugby has become increasingly popular over the last few years, although it is still in its infant stages compared to the men’s game in terms of broadcasting, investment and audience size. Last year’s Women’s Six Nations saw 13 million hours of coverage viewed on television in the UK, an increase from 10.4 million hours in 2023. The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off on 22 August and will be played across eight English venues in London, Brighton, Bristol, Exeter, Manchester, Northampton, Sunderland and York. The Allianz Stadium will stage the final, and with the current record attendance of 58,498 for a women’s match (held in 2023 during the Six Nations clash between England and France), 2025 aims to beat that.
The Women’s Premiership was initially formed in 1990, before becoming the Premier 15s in 2017. On 1 July 2023, Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) launched, replacing the previous Premier 15s, and it is currently England’s elite women’s rugby competition. PWR’s ambition is to ultimately transform the league into the most competitive, progressive and sustainable domestic rugby competition in the world. The 2024/25 season was a significant step forward towards achieving this target.
On 16 March, Gloucester Hartpury clinched the 2024/25 Premiership Women’s Rugby title for the third consecutive time after beating second-placed Saracens 34-19 at StoneX Stadium. Despite trailing in the first half of the game, the champions regained the lead in the second half with tries from Maud Muir, Neve Jones and Natasha Hunt. Millie David of Bristol Bears also topped the most tries scored with 17, May Campbell of Saracens led the tackles table with an outstanding 230 hits, while Liv McGoverne of Exeter Chiefs recorded 128 kicks – 24 more than second-placed Zoe Harrison – and Emma Sing of Gloucester Hartpury secured a total of 163 points.
Remote coverage
Founded in 2012, Limitless specialises in remote and cloud production. Leveraging technology to innovate well and sustainably, its commitment extends to fostering positive social and environmental impact on screen and behind the camera. Building on the success of last season, Limitless manages the delivery of both the PWR multilateral world feed and domestic unilateral feed for TNT Sports remotely from its recently expanded remote production facility in Woking. The team utilised two large production control rooms and one multi-function room that houses the remote television match official. Delivering live multicamera coverage for both linear broadcast and streaming platforms, Limitless provided all the PWR action for the 2024/25 season.
Limitless founder and CEO Claire Wilkie works across strategy, sales, business development, market research and viewer trends, zooming out to look at the bigger picture and planning for growth. “I work closely with our team to deliver requests for proposal responses, pitching and winning business,” begins Wilkie. “It’s important to me to develop relationships with our clients, remain at the fore of remote production capability and build our amazing team for success. Limitless offers a high standard of remote production for major production companies and top-tier broadcasters such as BBC, TNT Sports and Premier Sports.”
Throughout the 2024/25 PWR season, Limitless and Buzz 16 delivered weekly multicamera coverage from major venues across the UK, along with single-camera coverage for every other match.
“We are delighted to have been the host broadcast partner for the PWR alongside our partners Buzz 16 and TNT Sports for the past two seasons,” says Wilkie. “To deliver this contract, we deployed a full remote production to service world feed coverage and TNT Sports’ domestic coverage. We’re at the forefront of full remote production, delivering the PWR across two incredible seasons of growth directly to TNT Sports.”
Due to the nature of match timing being non-continuous during a rugby game, a custom integration into the Moov Orion graphics control system was created to give a live connection to the on-site timing devices via cloud-hosted systems provided by Limitless. “Every broadcast pick consists of eight-camera coverage with full pitch-side presentation, reporter, on-site commentary, big-screen video, fan radio, remote Television Match Official, Hawkeye integration, remote replay, analysis and highlights operations, remote graphics via our partner Moov, GenAI super slow-motion and analyst feeds. Both finals consisted of 12- and 18-camera coverage,” explains Wilkie.
Buzz 16 provides all production and digital content production for the PWR and host broadcast production for TNT Sports. “We work together looking to get the very best output for the PWR, ultimately to get more eyeballs on the sport and more fans coming to the game,” adds Wilkie. “The stats are only just recently out, and PWR saw an 86% increase in broadcast views, a 134% increase in streaming subscribers and reached over 24 million accounts across social channels, plus it had record attendances for double-headers and stand-alone games. We are so proud to have played our part in this success and growth of a sport close to our hearts.”
Also new for the 2024/25 season, Limitless launched a pioneering ultra-low-latency return vision solution. The technology was developed in-house and provides near real-time return vision to presentation and commentary monitors on-site, with a delay under 100ms glass to glass. “We offer a next-level remote production experience that feels just like being fully on-site,” says Wilkie.
“Our ultra-low-latency technology eliminates delays across pitch-side presentation monitors, commentary feeds, camera returns, tallies, big-screen video, analyst feeds and Hawkeye integration.”
Delay is often the biggest challenge in remote productions, “but our solution makes the production experience effortless and surpasses expectations,” she continues.
“For presenters and pundits, there should be no difference between remote and on-site productions, and that’s exactly what we deliver. Many directors, including those who have worked on World Cups, regularly pass through our remote production hub. They consistently tell us that our workflow feels intentionally designed, built from the ground up with the production experience in mind.”
Limitless has also premiered GenAI super slow-motion tech in professional rugby, which offers numerous advantages and possibilities. “As our replay operations are based in the remote production hub, we can offer EVS and GenAI super slow-motion across all our clients’ productions and not just when the truck is turned on. The Limitless Way unlocks endless creative possibilities, allowing super slow-motion coverage from every camera, including RF, cine, drone, jib, track, ENG and Steadicam.”
Paired alongside two EVS XT-VIA servers and X-File integration, Xtramotion will be a game changer for replay operators, offering an unprecedented level of detail and flexibility, and delivering fans unique storytelling with emotion like never before. “Our use of GenAI enhances not only live coverage but also archive footage, significantly expanding creative options for features, highlights, VT inserts, analysis and digital content,” continues Wilkie. “By embracing GenAI technology across our workflow, we empower directors with extraordinary flexibility, allowing them to select any camera angle and multiple slow-motion speeds to create the most iconic images. This innovation dramatically elevates production quality, delivering Tier 1 value to Tier 2 and Tier 3 sports and enriching storytelling with enhanced emotional depth.”
Sustainable solutions
As climate change continues to intensify, it’s more vital than ever for alternative and more sustainable approaches to live broadcast. Crucially, every Limitless outdoor broadcast is ultra-sustainable, due to its nimble on-site footprint and micro power draw on-site, combined with an advanced Remote Production Hub. “One of the key advantages of not originating from a traditional broadcast background is our ability to approach the industry with fresh eyes,” explains Wilkie. “Rather than investing in legacy outdoor broadcast trucks, we started from scratch and developed an innovative and powerful fully remote production system called The Limitless Way. This approach offers unmatched freedom, allowing us to produce content from anywhere in the world.”
The Limitless workflow has been specifically designed to be agile, resilient and efficient, without compromising facilities. For their work on-site, minimal crews are required and are supported by a small connectivity vehicle, equipped with two Limitless Connect Modules (LCMs). “Instead of relying on a fleet of cumbersome, landlocked trucks, we designed our remote production method to provide all the functionality and reliability of traditional systems, but with greater flexibility and efficiency,” notes Wilkie.
“By moving complexity off-site to our advanced Remote Production Hub, we created a streamlined, modular workflow that is both scalable and agile. At the heart of this approach are our compact, robust on-site LCMs. These modules operate on shore power and feature state-of-the-art battery systems, eliminating the need for large generators typically required for traditional outdoor broadcast trucks. This results in an exceptionally efficient and sustainable broadcasting solution.”
Everything Limitless is doing and every decision it ultimately makes considers the future of the planet. “Instead of relying on diesel generators, our LCMs feature battery systems that can power operations for up to ten hours independently,” says Wilkie. “By employing advanced battery technology, we’ve proactively reduced the risks associated with generator failures or logistical issues. Our remarkably energy-efficient LCM vehicles actually use less power than a household kettle.”
This sustainable approach lies at the heart of The Limitless Way ecosystem, which is designed to be flexible, agile and environmentally responsible at every stage.
“Our design allows us to customise each production precisely, bringing only what’s needed for each event,” she adds. “From four- to 20-camera productions, we effortlessly scale without altering our workflow. The beauty of The Limitless Way lies in its flexibility, sustainability and scalability, delivering maximum impact with minimal footprint and empowering creative freedom.”
Limitless’ coverage of women’s rugby is not only supporting the game but also boosting its visibility. With the 86% increase in broadcast views for Premiership Women’s Rugby, the future is looking bright for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
“We’re passionate about driving women’s sports forward and supporting the broader industry,” shares Wilkie. “As the UK’s first and only female-founded outdoor broadcast company, we know innovation and creativity are key to making things. Our fresh approach has introduced brand-new, Tier 1 level features to enhance coverage for emerging sports within budget constraints. Digital content represents a significant growth area – essential for engaging fans, driving ticket sales and creating a memorable experience.
“Ultimately, these elements boost revenue and encourage investment. I’m incredibly proud of our role in making this vision a reality.”
On top of this, Limitless champions gender diversity behind the camera. Its technical and engineering teams have consistently led the field, with representation and balance across two full seasons of women’s sports. “We’re delighted to offer the very latest in innovative technology, delivering high production value with the latest standards and brands of equipment,” concludes Wilkie. “We continue to be at the forefront of quality remote production, offering a high level of service across live sports in the UK and globally. I’m excited for the future!”
Winning visuals
Formed in 2000 by Duncan Foot and Nev Appleton, Moov delivers graphics for live sports broadcasts and has worked on Premiership Women’s Rugby, the Women’s Six Nations and the Women’s World Cup.
Moov has also contributed to many high-profile sporting events including Wimbledon, the Grand National, the Commonwealth Games and the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since 2013, Moov has been TNT Sports’ graphics partner, supporting coverage of the Champions League, MotoGP and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Moov Orion – a single interface built by Moov’s in-house operators and developers – controls the world feed stop-start clock, tables, team news and live match stats via integration with Stats Perform data. With Premiership Women’s Rugby airing on TNT Sports, Moov worked with the TNT Sports team to enhance the existing pack and create bespoke presentation graphics templates week-on-week.
Graphics are essential to rugby coverage, with so much detail needed on screen to help viewers follow the game and enhance the experience. Moov has been crucial in delivering this for audiences.
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This feature was first published in the Summer 2025 issue of FEED.
