Rugby Union

NBC Sports Group has acquired rights in the US for the Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England.

The ACT Brumbies Australian rugby union club will launch its own free-to-air television programme after striking a deal with commercial broadcaster Network Ten.

Media rights clips from February 4 to 17

World Rugby, the global governing body of rugby union, has said it would consider striking a deal with a pay-television broadcaster for the UK rights to the 2019 World Cup, which is being hosted by Japan.

World Rugby, the global governing body of rugby union, has launched the broadcast rights tender process for its 2019 World Cup in the UK and Irish markets.

Rugby Europe, the continental governing body of rugby union, has launched a new digital streaming platform in a bid to raise the profile of the sport at second and third-tier level.

Online streaming website Spox.com, owned by digital sports media company Perform, has secured rights in Germany to the 2016 Six Nations rugby union tournament.

Southern hemisphere rugby rights have increased significantly in global value, driven by explosive growth in the UK, France and the Middle East, and supported by strong returns in difficult core markets.

UK public-service broadcaster the BBC and commercial broadcaster ITV have announced their split of matches for the upcoming 2016 Six Nations Championship, which features the national rugby union teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy.

Sky renewed its deal for European club rugby and picked up Russian Premier League rights after a four-year hiatus.

Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has retained rights in Australia for Test matches and tournaments operated by Sanzar, rugby union’s governing body in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

The Australian Rugby Union is poised to confirm a new five-year rights deal with pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports and commercial broadcaster Ten, according to multiple reports.

With a new round of international broadcast deals in place from the 2015-16 season of French rugby’s Top 14, rights distributor Canal Plus has increased the value of the rights 10-fold in the last six seasons.

Holding this year’s Rugby World Cup in England helped World Rugby earn an increase of about 47 per cent in total media rights revenue compared to the 2011 tournament.

Aggressive bidding from free-to-air broadcasters in Ireland helped the Six Nations Committee double its media rights fee in the territory last week.

John Manning, research anaylst for SportBusiness Intelligence examines Rugby World Cup television audiences in the major rugby union markets.