Fuse’s Post

When CVC Capital Partners acquired 27% of Premiership Rugby in 2019 for £200m, they made a bet on the growth of the property's media rights. With the ability to show all matches as part of this new deal with #TNTSports, even though financials have yet to be released, it should be assumed they will get a reasonable gross uplift in comparison to the present deal which is worth around £37m per season (but like the recent English Premier League domestic deal, the revenue per game will likely decrease). However, after lengthy negotiations, the relatively short-term 2-year deal suggests there have been compromises on both sides. Therefore, it seems unlikely to get anywhere near the current deal of their main competitor in #France, the Top 14, which is close to £100m per season from Canal plus. With the Top 14 preparing to launch a tender for their next round of media rights from 2027-31 imminently, it seems likely the competitive imbalance between the two leagues will continue, so we can expect more pressure on #English players to seek the increased rewards of playing in France continue for quite some time. It also leaves #CVC with the ongoing conundrum of getting #ROI for its LPs from its investment in English Rugby. #Rugby #Sportsfinance #sportseconomy England Rugby FFR - Fédération Française de Rugby Ligue Nationale de Rugby SportBusiness Discovery Inc Time Warner BT Group SportsPro

🏉 The Business of Rugby Meets the Ultimate Party Atmosphere! 🏉 Just published on the rugby blog: a deep dive into the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series—a global sports phenomenon that's more than just world-class rugby. 🌍💼 This series has not only captured the hearts of fans with its fast-paced, electrifying matches but has also become a financial powerhouse, generating millions in revenue! With iconic stops in cities like Hong Kong, Cape Town, and formerly Las Vegas, the Sevens Series blends sport, entertainment, and an amazing party vibe. In this post, I explore: 💰 How the series became a lucrative business. 🏟️ The fan-favorite cities that bring rugby and entertainment together. 📊 Record-breaking revenues and the key sponsorships driving the Series' success. Whether you’re a rugby enthusiast or interested in the business of sports, this post has something for you! Check it out and join the conversation: https://lnkd.in/gBD3mnYM #rugbyunion #sports #sportsbiz #7s #marketing #sportsmarketing #blog #content

🏉 The Business of Rugby Meets the Ultimate Party Atmosphere! 🏉 Just published on the rugby blog: a deep dive into the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series—a global sports phenomenon that's more than just world-class rugby. 🌍💼 This series has not only captured the hearts of fans with its fast-paced, electrifying matches but has also become a financial powerhouse, generating millions in revenue! With iconic stops in cities like Hong Kong, Cape Town, and formerly Las Vegas, the Sevens Series blends sport, entertainment, and an amazing party vibe. In this post, I explore: 💰 How the series became a lucrative business. 🏟️ The fan-favorite cities that bring rugby and entertainment together. 📊 Record-breaking revenues and the key sponsorships driving the Series' success. Whether you’re a rugby enthusiast or interested in the business of sports, this post has something for you! Check it out and join the conversation: https://lnkd.in/gBD3mnYM #rugby #blog #7s #HSBC #marketing #sportsmarketing #content #tournament

Rugby rights holders want to know which categories to prioritise when selling sponsorship - so which categories are they most likely to do a deal with? 🏉 📈 ☎ Landline Telecoms lead the way, at 9.45x more likely to do rugby #sponsorship than any other type of rights holder. This is driven by deals like... - BT Group x Cardiff Rugby, Ospreys Rugby Ltd, Newport Rugby Club Pty Ltd and Scarlets Rugby - Virgin Media x Munster Rugby 🚄 Rail & Road is the second most over-indexing category, driven by a wider range of providers. These include... Train companies - Lumo x Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club - Hull Trains x Hull Kingston Rovers Rugby League Club Bus companies - First Bus x Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Club Taxi firms - Veezu x Bath Rugby - Uber x New Zealand Rugby Car rental brands - Europcar x Leicester Tigers Want to see the Top 15 categories most likely to sponsor #rugby? 👉 https://lnkd.in/eVwgQYin #sportsmarketing

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Another thrilling weekend of Six Nations Rugby; lets not talk about the Italy match 😀 Rugby has come a long way in recent years, and the coverage of it has too. According to some of the figures from last year’s Rugby World Cup in France, it seems the world’s rugby union authorities are succeeding in widening the game’s appeal: 🏉 RWC France achieved 1.33bn viewing hours across all programming on linear and non-linear broadcast, making it the most viewed rugby event of all time 🏉 France 2023 achieved 30% more viewership than England 2015 and 19% more than Japan 2019 🏉 Growing viewership was observed across most markets, including rugby’s emerging territories such as Germany and the USA 🏉 RWC France 2023 global viewership came at 85% from free-to-air TV, underscoring World Rugby’s mission to make the tournament accessible for all 🏉 Streaming services are growing and now account for 5% of global viewership. RugbyPass TV is providing D2C coverage in markets without a local broadcaster This all echoes wider moves within the game’s governing bodies to address the often fragmented nature of the sport which has held it back on the world stage. There is a new global calendar that better defines club and international time windows, a new Nations Cup competition which cements the partnership between Northern and Southern Hemisphere, and the return of A internationals to give emerging teams better fixtures and a path to the top table over time. It is one of those sports where we absolutely should see more innovation in the broadcast set-up, as it looks to tell a complex story to more viewers in a manner that also doesn’t alienate the purists and what has been a very loyal audience for decades. What would be good to see next is more fan access to the elements that make up the broadcast — the camera angles, the audio, and the data. This will allow individuals to assemble the coverage package that works for them and their knowledge and understanding of the game. More here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eg6nFwhV #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #sportstech #sportstechnology World Rugby Six Nations Rugby #fanengagement #5G TikTok Sportable #GuinnessSixNations #SageInsights #SmartBall Sage #sportsmarketing #tech #technology #innovation

Twickenham Stadium becomes the Allianz Stadium: Could this be the turning point for English rugby? Rugby fans across England have felt ‘personally attacked’ by the loss of their beloved “Twickers”. ’How could you?’, they scream. Well, considering the state of the game, quite easily. Our rugby specialist, Will Thompson, breaks down why this deal isn’t all doom and gloom, and could actually be the game-changer rugby in England so desperately needs: 🏟 This deal is reportedly worth more than £100m over 10 years, a staggering figure in rugby terms that will see record numbers invested in the grassroots game and professional clubs. After a difficult few years since Covid, the RFU are keen to avoid any more pain. Fans, players, and key voices in the media have been calling out for the desperate need for investment, and this is the answer. 🏟 This investment will also provide vital funding into the professional game and senior teams, particularly enhancing growth in the women’s game with Allianz already title partner of the Premiership Women's Rugby 🏟 With that, Allianz is a known sponsor of rugby across the world, so it feels an authentic and genuine partnership 🏟 The press release from the RFU mentions ‘improving experiences’ at the stadium too, essential in bringing Rugby HQ into the modern day with a stadium that attracts new fans to generate more revenue, which forms a huge part of the funding for the whole English game; multiple routes to the station might be a start... 🏟 The other alternative at one stage was selling Twickenham altogether and merging the Home of Rugby with the Home of Football – yes Wembley! So we were relieved this deal means our iconic home remains 🏟 Accusations of Twickenham ‘selling its soul’ are somewhat naive, as these types of investments are exactly what every other mainstream sport has done to survive and grow. And just as people still affectionally call Wembley Stadium Connected by EE simply ‘Wembley’, The Kia Oval simply ‘The Oval’, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium simply ‘Murrayfield’, and the DHL Stadium ‘Cape Town Stadium’, Twickers will always be Twickers to rugby fans After what’s felt like years of ‘what do we do’, this deal feels like the first huge step towards growing and changing the game this nation loves so much. #Rugby #Twickenham #AllianzStadium #RFU

At a time when rugby union is struggling in North America, and despite not having the Eagles qualifying for the RWC23, Major League Rugby is attracting many former rugby icons, such as Matt Giteau, to name but one. Recently, Stade Toulousain, one of Europe's most prestigious clubs, joined forces with the Utah Warriors, striking a major blow on the American Rugby Union (XV) market. However, it is Rugby League (XIII) that is about to conquer the American market. This type of rugby, often described as more spectacular and rougher, is about to set foot in the United States. The economic strategy behind this move is questionable and highly risky... But "high-risk = high-reward". I can't wait to see if Rugby League (XIII) can make it on the American market before Rugby Union (XV) rugby does. Let's give it a try. ---------------------   French version available online   ---------------------   Selective by passion   #sponsorship #sports #marketing

🏉🏉🏉 **BREAKING NEWS** Premiership Rugby to remain on TNT Sports for at least one more season I think this is great news for rugby in England. There is no mention yet as to value and contract length, but if rumours are to be believed total rights values are expected to be similar to the previous deal. So considering this new deal now bundles in all live matches, some pessimists might say that this is a loss for Premiership Rugby as average revenue per match has likely fallen (complicated to calculate as the last deal was done in a 12/13 teams league context). But I disagree. TNT Sports (BT Sports previously) have proven their competence in delivering high quality rugby broadcasts and analysis, as well as building an engaged rugby fanbase. So 100% matches live on TNT Sports is a great win for maximising reach of a fantastic competition. And it allows them to continue to invest in building this audience. Where rugby is currently domestically, maximising the reach (especially with a 10 team league) has to be the aim of this cycle. Fewer fixtures also mean more games featuring all of rugby's big names stars like Marcus Smith, Maro Itoje and Tom Curry. And aligned with their coverage of the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) competitions, it cements TNT Sports position as domestic rugby broadcaster of choice. Other considerations: + No mention of the FTA (ITV) deal that was brokered last year so we assume that is out. That seemed to go down well with rugby fans, and attracting new audiences, so we may expect to see something on that. + No mention yet of the future of the FTA highlights show, which did a great job of reaching non TNT subscribers + This deal implies the end of the live streaming solution PRTV - at least domestically. Is an ex-UK only product commercially viable? + We wait to hear more in terms of rights values and contract length. But given terms have only been announced for one season, we would expect any restructure of the Premiership + Championship (plus promotion/relegation etc) would be put in place from 2025/26. And we would expect TNT Sports have a significant say in how that is being shaped. Congratulations to all involved!! https://lnkd.in/evVzQ2ZG

We observe the South Island NRL Bid being compared with others. Confident in being the next club granted approval to join, we strongly advocate for expanding the National Rugby League men's and women's competitions to 20 teams as soon as feasible. This expansion should ensure sustainability where clubs, players, and communities can prosper. We believe that the South Island of #NewZealand has all the inputs for early success, similar to what was seen with the Melbourne Storm. We believe Rugby league is the premier sport in Australasia, given its extensive reach across the entire Pacific. We acknowledge and respect the efforts of everyone involved in the bid application process, from #PNG to #WesternAustralia. As part of the #rugbyleague community, we aim to collectively strengthen and cement rugby league's position as the leading sport in the Southern Hemisphere. The below analysis was completed on Australian fans in 2021; we plan to share similar data on the New Zealand and Pacific markets in the coming weeks. #NRL