RUGBY League World Cup 2013 organisers have announced that the BBC and Premier Sports have secured rights to broadcast the tournament.
The tournament which kicks off on 26 October represents one of the biggest sporting event taking place in the UK during 2013. The BBC will bring live coverage of all England games to television and radio, starting with the Opening Ceremony. The tournament starts with two games at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on 26 October, including England v Australia.
BBC Sport coverage will feature all of England’s group games, plus a quarter-final and a semi-final. The BBC will broadcast the Rugby League World Cup Final at Old Trafford on 30 November.
Premier Sports have acquired the rights to provide live coverage of all 28 games of the RLWC on Sky channel 428.
Nine of the matches featuring Australia, New Zealand, three quarter-finals and one semi-final will be completely exclusive to Premier Sports. The channel will also offer in-depth simulcast coverage of every England game being shown on the BBC along with live coverage of another 13 games.
This announcement by Premier Sports follows the acquisition of exclusive television and online subscription rights to coverage of every game from every round of the NRL and State of Origin for the next 5 years along with continued weekly coverage from the Kingstone Press Championships in England.
Richard Sweeney, CEO of Premier Sports commented, “This is terrific news to be able to further develop our commitment and involvement in Rugby League. RLWC 2013 coverage means Premier Sports will be broadcasting over 250 Rugby League games in 2013 and makes us a must have Rugby League home for fans in the UK now and for the foreseeable future.”
Richard Webb, COO of Premier Sports commented, “We have been building our Rugby League portfolio gradually with great backing from viewers and partners who love the game as much as we do. People who follow the ‘greatest game’ will know we have put a lot of thought and effort into covering matches from the Championships in a way that best represents the real heart of the game and they can expect more of the same come October.”
RLWC 2013 Tournament Director, Nigel Wood added, “This is great news for RLWC 2013 and especially great news for the fans. Die hard Rugby League fans can watch every minute of every game at the tournament and potential new fans can get a real flavour of the top sporting event of 2013 on a truly dedicated Rugby League channel.
“We also look forward to other platforms recognising that Premier Sports and its wall to wall Rugby League coverage should be made accessible to the widest possible potential audience.”
The coverage will also include next week’s international Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand.
For more information see www.premiersports.tv.
[ Source: Australian Times ]