ITV will be the Rugby World Cup UK broadcaster exclusively in 2023.
Following ITV’s production and broadcast of the most watched ever Rugby World Cup in 2019, this new deal means all the action from the tournament will be shown exclusively free-to-air to UK viewers on its channels.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup in France will take place between 8 September and 21 October 2023 with IITV showing all 48 games exclusively live.
Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport, said: “The Rugby World Cup has become a prime fixture every four years on ITV, so, following such a successful tournament in 2015, we’re delighted to be able to announce we will continue to be the competition’s home until 2023.
“And our new deal kicks off with exclusive coverage of the women’s tournament in Ireland later this year, which, along with the rights to the World Rugby U20 Championship, broadens our association with elite rugby.
“Rugby World Cup 2015 was the most widely viewed rugby event ever, the live audience for Rugby World Cup 2015 increased by a factor of 48 per cent over the last edition in New Zealand, with live viewership through 106 broadcasters reaching nearly 724 million homes worldwide.”
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “We are delighted to be partnering with ITV in an exciting long-term deal that will showcase our biggest fifteens events, including Rugby World Cup, Women’s Rugby World Cup and our annual World Rugby U20 Championship, to a free-to-air audience in the UK.
“Rugby World Cup 2015 set new standards of rugby broadcast innovation and delivery, providing a record number of fans in a record number of nations with every unforgettable moment from the most compelling and competitive tournament to date.
“As host broadcaster, ITV was at the heart of the success story, bringing fans closer to what was the best-attended, most-viewed, most-competitive and most socially-engaged Rugby World Cup ever and while this was a highly-competitive process for one of rugby’s most prized broadcast rights, we were impressed by ITV’s passion for the sport and continued broadcast innovation.
“Great events are built on great partnerships and we are excited to be working with ITV, a long-term supporter of Rugby World Cup, to further fan-experience and rugby growth within the UK over the next eight years.”
England’s World Cup fixtures confirmed with routine route to final
The next tournament will be held in France and the hosts will face New Zealand in a blockbuster opening match in Saint-Denis.
Chile and Tonga are the latest teams to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The finals work the same way as the 2019 tournament with the first two teams in each pool progressing to the quarter-finals, which will be contested by knock-out matches.
If we suppose the top-ranked teams each win their pools and the second-ranked teams finish runners-up then the quarter-finals in 2023 could look something like this…
- Wales vs Argentina
- South Africa vs France
- England vs Australia
- New Zealand vs Ireland
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “The draw is a key milestone on the journey to Rugby World Cup France 2023, and the time when the tournament truly comes to life for teams and players alike.
“It enables key operational elements to be undertaken such as venue allocation, optimal match schedule development and the ticketing programme.”
FULL 2023 RUGBY WORLD CUP DRAW:
POOL A
- New Zealand
- France
- Italy
- Uruguay
- Namibia
POOL A FIXTURES:
- Sep 8: France vs New Zealand (Pool A) – Stade de France, Saint-Denis
- Sep 9: Italy vs Namibia (Pool A) – Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Etienne
- Sep 14: France vs Uruguay (Pool A) – Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille
- Sep 15: New Zealand vs Namibia (Pool A) – Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse
- Sep 20: Italy vs Uruguay (Pool A) – Stade de Nice, Nice
- Sep 21: France vs Namibia (Pool A) – Stade Velodrome, Marseille
- Sep 27: Uruguay vs Namibia (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
- Sep 29: New Zealand vs Italy (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
- Oct 5: New Zealand vs Uruguay (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
- Oct 6: France vs Italy (Pool A) – Parc OL, Lyon
