Sky secures World Rugby rights and confirms RugbyPass sale

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10 October 2022
Sky secures World Rugby rights and confirms RugbyPass sale
Sky New Zealand (SKT) has agreed a wide-ranging deal with World Rugby that secures exclusive
rights to premium competitions, including Rugby World Cups, for seven years. Under the deal,
World Rugby will acquire RugbyPass, and the two parties have agreed a joint approach to the
production of exclusive programming, particularly in the women’s game.
Within the significant rights agreement, Sky will cement its place as New Zealand’s destination for
World Rugby events and content between 2023 and 2029. This includes every men’s and every
women’s Rugby World Cup, the new WXV (international women’s fifteens competition) and the
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Sky Chief Executive Sophie Moloney said: “Sky’s goal is to connect New Zealanders with the sport
and entertainment they love, in ways that work for them. This agreement secures exclusive access
to all of World Rugby’s premium competitions for many years, and we look forward to offering them
to all New Zealanders on the Sky Box, our streaming services and free-to-air.”
The partnership includes an agreement to co-produce exciting new programming with an emphasis
on the women’s game, a strategic priority for both Sky and World Rugby.
“This significant deal also sees World Rugby acquiring RugbyPass, the established destination for
rugby fans across the globe with comprehensive rugby news, analysis, shows, podcasts, live match
statistics and results. In the last two years RugbyPass has focused on building its audience and
network business, and it is an exciting transition for the RugbyPass team to work with World Rugby
to deliver on its strategic mission to grow the sport globally.”
“We look forward to working with World Rugby to deliver superb rugby content to our customers
here in Aotearoa New Zealand, and to supporting their efforts to grow the game of rugby globally.”
ENDS
Authorised by: Sophie Moloney, Chief Executive Officer



Investor queries to: Media queries to:
Tom Gordon Chris Major
Chief Financial Officer Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
+64 21 190 0828 +64 29 917 6127
tom.gordon@sky.co.nz chris.major@sky.co.nz

Premium competitions secured include:
• Rugby World Cup 2023, scheduled to be held in France in 2023
• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, scheduled to be held in England in 2025
• Rugby World Cup 2027, scheduled to be held in Australia in 2027
• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029, scheduled to be held in Australia in 2029
• Rugby World Cup Sevens 2026, location to be confirmed
• WXV (new global women’s competition) to 2029
• World Rugby Pacific Four Series (world’s top women’s teams: New Zealand, Australia,
Canada and USA) to 2029
• Sevens Series Tournaments to 2029
• World Rugby U20 Championships to 2029