Date: 18/5/17
SEVEN NETWORK SECURES BROADCAST RIGHTS TO THE WOMEN’S RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2017
The Rugby League World Cup 2017 (RLWC2017) Organising Committee is pleased to confirm that the Seven Network has secured the Australian broadcast rights to this year’s Women’s Rugby League World Cup.
Under the terms of the deal, in a first for the Women’s Rugby League World Cup, the Seven Network will broadcast all 12 matches of the tournament on free-to-air television and also stream all 12 matches live across the “screens of Seven”. The Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017 will culminate in the final on 2 December 2017 in Brisbane, where history will be created when both the men’s and women’s finals are played on the same day, on the same stage with the Seven Network broadcasting the double-header live and free across Australia.
RLWC2017 Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Hill said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Seven Network in an historic deal that will showcase the Women’s Rugby League World Cup on free-to-air television across Australia.
“The agreement to broadcast every match of the tournament across Australia on the Seven Network is a significant step forward for Rugby League, providing a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the skills and competitiveness of the women’s game.
“The Organising Committee is incredibly proud to be conducting a tournament that has attracted significant investment from both government and commercial partners whilst profiling the players and game like no previous Rugby League event.”
This year’s tournament will be first time the Women’s Rugby League World Cup has been held as a standalone event, with the pool matches to be played at Southern Cross Group Stadium in Cronulla (Sydney) as triple-headers on November 16, 19 and 22 with the semi-finals to be played as a double-header on November 26.
In July 2016, the Seven Network announced it had secured the all-encompassing broadcast rights to the men’s Rugby League World Cup 2017, further enhancing its position as Australia’s market leader for premium domestic and international sporting events.
Commenting, Saul Shtein, Seven’s Head of Sport, said: “We are delighted to be Australia’s home of international rugby league in 2017 with the Seven Network to broadcast all forty games of the men’s and women’s Rugby League World Cups.
“We are looking forward to committing our network to both the coverage and promotion of women’s Rugby League across the screens of Seven, with a dedicated live channel for all the Australian Jillaroos games throughout the tournament as they seek to claim the title of 2017 World Cup winners.
“It will be a great event and, in a tournament first, Seven will cover all matches of the Women’s Rugby League World Cup on television and also live-stream. We will cover it all.”
The RLWC2017 Organising Committee can also confirm that SKY Sport (NZ) has secured the New Zealand broadcast rights to the Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017, with EMTV granted the rights in Papua New Guinea.
“Female participation is one of the fastest growing areas of the sport. To be able to broadcast the Women’s Rugby League World Cup across multiple international markets will not only promote women’s Rugby League to a wider audience than ever before, but inspire further growth of the game from grassroots to the elite level,” concluded Hill.
The Rugby League International Federation confirmed that Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea will be the six teams to contest the Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017.
The RLWC2017 Organising Committee would also like to acknowledge the NSW Government, Queensland Government and Federal Government for their support of the Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017.
SKY SPORT SECURES BROADCAST RIGHTS TO WOMEN’S RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2017
The Rugby League World Cup 2017 (RLWC2017) Organising Committee is pleased to confirm that the SKY Sport has secured the New Zealand broadcast rights to this year’s Women’s Rugby League World Cup.
Under the terms of the deal, SKY Sport will broadcast all 12 matches of the tournament culminating in the final on 2 December 2017, where history will be created when both the men’s and women’s finals are played on the same day, on the same stage.
RLWC2017 Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Hill said: “We are delighted to be partnering with SKY Sport in an historic deal that will showcase the Women’s Rugby League World Cup across New Zealand.
“The agreement to broadcast every match of the tournament across New Zealand on SKY Sport is a significant step forward for Rugby League, providing a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the skills and competitiveness of the women’s game.
“The Organising Committee is incredibly proud to be conducting a tournament that has attracted significant investment from both government and commercial partners whilst profiling the players and game like no previous Rugby League event.”
This year’s tournament will be first time the Women’s Rugby League World Cup has been held as a standalone event, with the pool matches to be played at Southern Cross Group Stadium in Sydney as triple-headers on November 16, 19 and 22 with the semi-finals to be played as a double-header on November 26.
SKY Director of Sport, Richard Last said: “We’re thrilled to have secured this year’s Women’s Rugby League World Cup for SKY Sport subscribers. Since the 2016 women’s ANZAC Test featuring the Kiwi Ferns against the Jillaroos, we’ve seen a 26% increase in our viewership of women’s Rugby League. There’s clearly a very real appetite, and we can’t wait for the tournament to kick-off!”
The RLWC2017 Organising Committee can also confirm that the Seven Network has secured the Australian broadcast rights to the Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017, with EMTV granted the rights in Papua New Guinea.
“Female participation is one of the fastest growing areas of the sport. To be able to broadcast the Women’s Rugby League World Cup across multiple international markets will not only promote women’s Rugby League to a wider audience than ever before, but inspire further growth of the game from grassroots to the elite level,” concluded Hill.
The Rugby League International Federation confirmed that Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea will be the six teams to contest the Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017.
Women’s Rugby League World Cup 2017 Tournament Draw
*Kick-off times will be confirmed shortly
16/11/2017 Pool – Round 1 New Zealand vs Canada Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
16/11/2017 Pool – Round 1 England vs PNG Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
16/11/2017 Pool – Round 1 Australia vs Cook Islands Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
19/11/2017 Pool – Round 2 PNG vs Canada Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
19/11/2017 Pool – Round 2 New Zealand vs Cook Islands Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
19/11/2017 Pool – Round 2 Australia vs England Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
22/11/2017 Pool – Round 3 England vs Cook Islands Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
22/11/2017 Pool – Round 3 Australia vs Canada Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
22/11/2017 Pool – Round 3 New Zealand vs PNG Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
26/11/2017 Semi-Final 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
26/11/2017 Semi-Final 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B Southern Cross Group Stadium, Cronulla
2/12/2017 Final Brisbane Stadium
