ESPN to air Rugby World Cup archive content

by Tristan O'Carroll, mediaweek.co.uk 30-Nov-09, 10:50

LONDON - ESPN, the Disney-backed sports broadcaster, has struck a rights deal with the Rugby World Cup's organising body to show archive matches and footage from the tournament.

ESPN has agreed a deal with Rugby World Cup Limited to show archive content from each of the six Rugby World Cup tournaments to date on ESPN Classic in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The deal also includes rights to show Rugby World Cup content on-demand, as well as streaming rights for ESPN's websites including ESPNClassic.com and ESPNScrum.com.

ESPN Classic will have access to 40 hours of rugby content per year from the entire Rugby World Cup archive until 2013. Access to 2011 Rugby World Cup content will be available on ESPN Classic from May 2012.