French pay-television operator Ma Chaîne Sport acquired live rights for rugby union’s Sevens World Series in a deal that covers the remaining four rounds of the 2011-12 season and the entire 2012-13 campaign.
MCS struck the deal with the International Rugby Board, the sport’s governing body and the organiser of the seven-a-side series.
The company’s high-definition channel, MCS HD, will show the semi-finals and finals live from each round of the series. The next event will take place in Hong Kong from March 23-25, with MCS planning to broadcast nearly four hours of live coverage on March 25.
MCS plans to broadcast highlights of the series’ two previous rounds, which took place last month in New Zealand and the United States, on March 11 and March 18.