World Rugby reaches fans beyond broadcast deals thanks to D2C
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John Moulding
| 24 November 2023
1 World Rugby reaches fans beyond broadcast deals thanks to D2C
The RugbyPass TV streaming service – a partnership between World Rugby and Endeavor Streaming – is being credited with helping World Rugby reach fans directly in markets where broadcast deals for the recent 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament were not in place.

This additional reach included large audiences across Greece, South Korea and Hungary. Since its launch, the platform has attracted 350,000+ subscribers and a total 1.7 million users around the world. It streamed nearly 500,000 hours of content throughout the Rugby World Cup, with 3.3 million total views, including nearly 700,000 live views.

RugbyPass TV launched in September in time to take live and on-demand content from the 2023 Rugby World Cup direct-to-consumer. It has also gathered a following in markets where the Rugby World Cup was covered, like the UK. Highlights and ‘shoulder content’ add to the non-live offering.

James Rothwell, Chief Marketing and Content Officer at World Rugby, says: “World Rugby’s objective is to drive global and diverse fan growth for our sport by making the game as relevant, accessible and entertaining as possible. RugbyPass TV is a cornerstone of our fan engagement strategy.”

Pete Bellamy, Chief Commercial Officer at Endeavor Streaming, reckons RugbyPass TV’s results “exemplify the power that direct-to-consumer services have in reaching fans on a global scale, particularly around highly charged moments such as a World Cup tournament.” He adds: “These platforms are influential and essential tools for helping sports organisations deepen their engagement with fans, offering highly personalised experiences that traditional channels cannot offer.”

RugbyPass TV is hosted on Endeavor Streaming's Vesper platform, an end-to-end streaming solution that enables clubs and rightsholders to build D2C streaming experiences. Endeavor Streaming is a subsidiary of Endeavor, which supports premium video distribution and monetisation for live and on-demand content across sports, entertainment, media and lifestyle.