SKY Italia joins global RWC 2015 rights-holding broadcaster line-up

Under the terms of the deal, SKY Italia will broadcast live coverage of all 48 matches and will also deliver a comprehensive TV, digital and mobile offering, meaning that more people in Italy than ever before will have access to the tournament, which takes place between 18 September and 31 October.

The deal provides a further boost for Rugby in Italy and further underscores the broadcaster’s commitment to the promotion of the sport, topping a strong portfolio of premium events, currently including The Rugby Championship, Super Rugby and the European Rugby Champions Cup.

RWCL Chairman Bernard Lapasset: “Rugby World Cup Limited is delighted to be renewing its successful relationship with SKY Italia. Italy is major and thriving rugby market and this exciting deal will enable our showcase event to reach out, engage and inspire new audiences across Italy.

“This extension with a highly-valued broadcast partner underscores our commitment to ensuring fan experience is at the heart of a Rugby World Cup that promises to be the most viewed, most engaged and best-connected tournament to date.”

Italy open their Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool D campaign against France at Twickenham on 19 September and will be looking to impress in a tournament that will see their matches screened to a bigger audience than ever before.

SKY Italia Sport Rights, Programming and Production Director Matteo Mammì said: “We are thrilled to again be appointed rights holding broadcaster for Rugby World Cup, one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world. Our strong collaboration with Rugby World Cup dates back to 2003 and we are proud to be projecting the 2015 edition to audiences across Italy. Rugby World Cup is the jewel of the crown of our sport offering, which has never been so wide in terms of properties and events. We look forward to supporting the Italian national team on their journey.”

FIR President Alfredo Gavazzi said: “Rugby World Cup is the sport’s showcase event, and the global rugby family is waiting for the 2015 edition with huge anticipation. I have no doubt the 2015 edition, in England and Cardiff, will be a landmark occasion for our sport and one where Italians can stand shoulder to shoulder in support of the Azzurri and share the memories with fans from all over the world.

“We are delighted that RWCL has chosen SKY Italia and looking forward to working with the broadcaster to deliver great coverage of this fantastic competition and grow excitement and participation within Italy as we look forward to what promises to be an exciting tournament.”

World Rugby Head of Commercial, Broadcast and Marketing Murray Barnett added: “Italy is an important market for Rugby and Rugby World Cup and we are excited about SKY Italia’s production plans and passion to inspire new audiences and participants throughout Italy.”

Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand was the most-watched of the eight tournaments to date with 125 licensees delivering coverage to 207 territories. England 2015 looks set to be the most-viewed rugby event of all time with a record number of rights holding broadcasters set to deliver over 20,000 hours of action via broadcast and digital platforms in a record number of territories, delivering an unprecedented broadcast experience.

Editors notes

About Rugby World Cup: Rugby World Cup is the financial engine behind unprecedented investment and growth in rugby worldwide. The net Rugby World Cup surplus from the commercial success of France 2007 and New Zealand 2011 has enabled World Rugby to invest more than £150 million in the game between 2009 and 2012 and commit an anticipated injection of more than £180 million between 2013 and 2016 to underwrite a large range of major funding initiatives including annual national union grants and strategic investments focusing on growing participation and increasing competition across all 120 national member unions affiliated to World Rugby.

About England 2015: Rugby World Cup 2015, hosted in England between 18 September and 31 October, will be a celebration of rugby and its unique character-building values, exciting and inspiring the nation and the world to play and support the game. England Rugby 2015 are the organising committee for Rugby World Cup 2015 and will deliver the six-week tournament, hosted in 10 English cities and in Cardiff, Wales. Thirteen match venues will play host to the 48 games that will celebrate and engage more than two million spectators, including more than 400,000 international travelling fans.

About SKY Italia: SKY Italia is an Italian media company owned by SKY plc. Founded in 2003, its customer base reached 4.73 million by the end December 2014. SKY currently offers more than 160 free to air and pay per view channels with a rich offering of movies, sports, news, entertainment and kids programming. SKY was the first Italian broadcasters to broadcast in HD and live in 3D and offers a pack of more than 60 HD channels and one channel entirely dedicated to 3D programs. Moreover, My SKY HD makes it possible to easily record your favorite programmes and to access the SKY On Demand service, while with SKY Go subscribers can watch on the move a wide selection of SKY’s channels and on demand contents. For more information, please visit www.sky.it.

Tackle Hunger: Tackle Hunger is a partnership between World Rugby and its official humanitarian partner, the UN World Food Programme, which highlights the importance of good nutrition not just to play rugby but to enable children to develop both physically and mentally. For Rugby World Cup 2015, the Tackle Hunger Million Meal Challenge aims to generate one million meals for the WFP school feeding programme to help nourish the bodies and minds of the world’s hungry children. A series of planned activations including profile-raising events, donation opportunities, social media activity and in-stadia messaging is encouraging the rugby family to take up the challenge to help build a brighter future for undernourished children. To find out more, click HERE.