Sport Industry Group

IRB and IMG extend Rugby World Cup deal- 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00

The International Rugby Board has announced the renewal of its agreement with IMG to act as the exclusive commercial representative for Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.

The agreement extends a long-standing relationship between the two parties stretching back to 1995 and will see IMG continue to represent all primary commercial rights sales and management functions for rugby’s showcase tournament, most notably broadcast, sponsorship marketing, commercial ticketing and licensing.

Tournament surpluses for reinvestment in the game have significantly increased from £32m for RWC 1995 to a record £122m at RWC 2007.

IRB will invest over £153 million during the period 2009-2012 as part of a range of major funding initiatives aimed at increasing global growth and stimulating participation.

Broadcast coverage of Rugby World Cup has doubled during the partnership with IMG and the action from 2011 tournament in New Zealand is set to be watched in over 200 countries with a potential television audience of over 4 billion.