Spark Seals Rights Deal For Rugby World Cup

Spark has acquired rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

As part of the deal, the New Zealand telco giant has secured the rights to various other tournaments staged by the sport’s world governing body, World Rugby.

The agreement means New Zealanders will be able to stream World Cup matches from Japan and related content live or on-demand over their home broadband or mobile connection, using televisions, mobiles, tablets and laptops. The service will offer both free and paid content.

Spark has also entered into a sublicensing agreement with TVNZ, which will see the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, 2018 Under 20 Championship and selected matches from the 2019 World Cup screen free-to-air on the public-service broadcaster.

Spark has also acquired rights to the 2019 U20 Championship.