Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports and commercial broadcaster Ten are set to secure rights in Australia to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The newspaper said rugby union’s global governing body World Rugby, and its rights agency partner IMG, are set to seal a deal that will see Fox Sports and its streaming service Kayo serve as the main broadcast partner in Australia for this year’s national team tournament in Japan.
Ten will pick up coverage of matches that is demanded under the government’s anti-siphoning regulations.
Ten’s commercial rival Nine has broadcast the past two editions of the World Cup, in 2015 and 2011, but is understood to have dropped out of the running as early as October last year.
Commercial broadcaster Seven is said to have exited the process fairly recently, with telco Optus also dropping out over the past week. The Herald added that public-service broadcaster SBS is open to some involvement in the tournament.
The 2019 World Cup will run from September 20 to November 2.