The NBC Sports Group division of US media company NBCUniversal has signed a four-year partnership with World Rugby for rights to the World Rugby Sevens Series.
The deal covers the 2020 to 2023 series and will see NBC provide more than 300 hours of programming.
NBC replaces sports broadcaster ESPN as the World Rugby Sevens Series rights-holder in the US. NBC previously held the rights from 2010 to 2016.
Coverage will be distributed across NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app, as well as through the NBC Sports Gold subscription service.
The deal has been signed ahead of the start of the women’s series in Glendale, Colorado on October 5-6 and the men’s series in Dubai from December 5-7. The men’s series will feature a two-day event at Los Angeles’ Dignity Health Sports Park, which is in line to stage sevens matches during the 2028 Olympic Games.
Rugby sevens has proved popular in the US, with San Francisco having hosted last year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens. NBC served as the host broadcaster of the tournament, which became the most-watched live rugby cast on record in the US as nine million viewers tuned in across five telecasts.