World Cup will be the most lucrative yet

LONDON: As fans pore over fixture lists, administrators smile at balance sheets, with this year’s Rugby World Cup promising a record payday for the sport.

New markets and record attendances would help the event, which starts in London on Friday, pull in about £240 million (R5 billion) in revenue, said the chief executive of World Rugby.

Sixty-five percent of that figure would come from TV rights, boosted by new growth markets and mushrooming interest, said Brett Gosper.

“This will be the most viewed, with 103 broadcasters in 205 territories – that is up on about 15% on the previous (2011) World Cup,” the Australian said yesterday.

“We will have 24 live matches screened in Germany… 22 live matches in China for the first time.

“We know it will be the biggest, but we think it will be the best – it certainly will be a record breaker on several fronts.”

Gosper said organisers had focused on free-to-air broadcasters to maximise reach. The action would be accessible to a potential reach of more than 770 million households.

World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset emphasised that his body’ s mission was to grow the sport.

“England 2015 represents a golden opportunity to reach, engage and inspire new audiences across the UK and around the world,” he said.

The World Cup, hosted across 13 venues in England and one in Cardiff, has sold 2.25 million tickets – 95% of those available.

This record figure has helped projected commercial revenue jump 60% from the last edition, staged in New Zealand four years ago.

A lucrative World Cup spells good news for players of all levels worldwide.

World Rugby said it would commit to an anticipated injection of more than £180 million between 2013 and next year.

Part of that was to fund participation and increasing competition across the 120 national member unions.

England kick off the World Cup on Friday night with a Group A game against Fiji. – Reuters