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NEW YORK CITY and WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA. -- June 17, 2010 – Universal Sports Network, NBC Sports, and the International Rugby Board (IRB) today announced a partnership that will bring to U.S. audiences unprecedented national television and digital media coverage of the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cup tournaments. The announcement was made by Universal Sports CEO David Sternberg and Mike Miller, CEO and Secretary General, International Rugby Board.
Universal Sports, the preeminent destination for Olympic-related sports programming, and NBC Sports will provide full, multi-platform coverage of all 48 matches during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand and the 2015 World Cup in England. Two matches in each tournament, including the Finals in 2011 and 2015, will air either live or on a same-day delay on NBC Sports. Live and delayed match video will also be accessible at www.universalsports.com, and on Universal Sports’ mobile platforms. Universal Sports’ and NBC Sports’ match coverage will feature a studio pre-game show, halftime and post-game shows, as well as several other production enhancements, and will be offered in high definition.
“This is a very significant rights acquisition for Universal Sports, especially given the growing popularity of rugby around the world and in America,” said Sternberg. “We are delighted to be partnering with the IRB for the Rugby World Cup and other top events, and we look forward to showcasing global rugby, at its highest level, for our audiences across all of our platforms—television, online and mobile.”
“Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone in the development of Rugby in the United States,” said Miller. “NBC and Universal Sports are globally renowned for quality broadcast delivery of major sports events in the United States and their considerable experience and passion for sport will deliver the widespread platform for Rugby World Cup to truly capture the hearts and minds of American sports fans.”
The Rugby World Cup is one of the largest and most avidly watched sporting events in the world, drawing an estimated 4.2 billion viewers worldwide during the last championship in France in 2007. The competition next year begins on September 9, 2011, when host New Zealand meets Tonga in Auckland. The tournament field consists of 20 different nations, likely including the United States, who will compete over the course of a month for the coveted Webb Ellis Cup. New Zealand and Australia jointly hosted the first edition of the Rugby World Cup in 1987 while South Africa is the defending champion from 2007.
The agreement extends Universal Sports’ focus on rugby, which will debut at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since the beginning of June, the network has really built up their rugby coverage. They have teamed up with USA Rugby and televised the U.S. Sevens Collegiate Championship Invitational and the six-country Churchill Cup tournament. The final two matches of the Churchill Cup, featuring both the U.S. national team and the England Saxons, will air live from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, this Saturday, June 19 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
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