Broadcast Partners Announced
Thursday, May 8, 2008
MEDIA RELEASE
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup has received another major boost today with Fox Sports joining an array of international broadcasters to ensure that the tournament is one of the most widely watched Rugby League events of all time.
Host Broadcaster the Nine Network will televise all nine Super Pool matches and all finals live in prime time, with Fox Sports securing all other matches with replay rights for all games.
At the same time Telstra Bigpond will break new ground with simultaneous live coverage of all games on both broadband and mobile platforms, as they join forces with www.rlwc08.com
America’s ESPN360.com will also use the same platforms to take World Cup matches into one of the biggest sporting markets on the globe.
The first World Cup tournament in Australia in 31 years has already secured a list of national broadcasters that includes: The Nine Network, Fox Sports, Sky Sports (UK), Sky Sport (NZ), Maori TV, Telstra Bigpond, ESPN 360.com, Mai TV (Fiji and Pacific Islands), Showtime Arabia, Canal Satellite (Spain), Ego Total (Israel), Measat (Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia), Orange Sports (France), Gateway Broadcast Services (Africa) and Starhub (Singapore).
Their broadcast signals will reach a range of countries as diverse as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, USA, France, Spain, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Nuiei, Middle East, North Africa, Spain and Andorra, Israel, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. World Cup organisers are still fielding further expressions of interest from a range of countries.
In addition to the extensive live television coverage, live radio broadcasts have been secured through ABC Australia, Radio New Zealand and National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea, with further support from a promotions partnership with DMG Radio (Nova).
Rugby League World Cup 2008 Tournament Director and Rugby League International Federation Chairman, Mr Colin Love AM, said the rights had not only generated significant revenue for the tournament but had also shown that there are real opportunities to grow interest in the game internationally.
“The television interest in the World Cup underlines the success of the rebuilding that has been taking place in the international game in recent years,” Mr Love said.
“Importantly, there is still a lot of potential to unlock in future years so the results for Rugby League World Cup ’08 to date have to be looked at as an encouraging start to an even more successful future.”
Further information:
World Cup Communications Manager: John Brady 02 9339 8524, 040 888 1222
World Cup Media Director: Tracie Edmondson 02 9237 0747, 041 625 8342