World Rugby statement: The launch of 'world-class' RugbyPass TV

World Rugby have launched RugbyPass TV a fortnight before Rugby World Cup 2023 starts with the September 8 blockbuster meeting of tournament hosts France versus the All Blacks in Paris.

The world-class streaming platform has been created to connect rugby fans across the globe more deeply with the game and ahead of next month's extended Rugby World Cup highlights and live programming, the platform has launched on August 25 with in excess of 200 hours of exclusive content.

This includes the World Rugby archive featuring footage from all previous Rugby World Cup finals dating back to 1987 and original World Rugby Studios programming. Following the upcoming World Cup in France, fans will then be able to watch WXV and HSBC SVNS live on RugbyPass TV in most markets globally, ensuring World Rugby drives access and growth for these competitions.

A World Rugby statement read: “Launching ahead of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, RugbyPass TV builds on World Rugby’s strategic mission to grow the global game by making rugby more accessible and relevant to more people.

“RugbyPass TV is more than a streaming platform, through unrivalled access and exclusive content, rugby’s first global viewing destination will aggregate events into one place, delivering the ultimate immersive experience for fans, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.

“RugbyPass TV will blend unparalleled coverage of the world’s top events including the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups, WXV and the HSBC SVNS with exclusive behind the scenes, documentary and feature content produced by World Rugby Studios involving the sport’s biggest stars.

“The platform will ensure that the 10th edition of the men’s event in the sport’s 200th anniversary year will be the most widely accessible rugby event ever, providing the destination for live coverage for nations where deals do not exist or where rights-holders are not showing all matches live.”

World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said: “We are excited to be launching RugbyPass TV for fans around the world. This important move builds on the recent acquisition of RugbyPass and the strengthening of our fan engagement capability. It represents a key strategy in our mission to make rugby truly global by making the sport more accessible and more relevant to more people.

“This is a statement of intent to set the sport up for success, for all our unions, regions and the wider rugby ecosystem, and a result of a significant business transformation to convert our vision into meaningful growth outcomes. RugbyPass TV will deepen connections with audiences and accelerate growth beyond our traditional markets.”

James Rothwell, the World Rugby chief marketing and content officer, added: “This is an opportunity for rugby fans around the world to get closer to the game we love. Rugby is an incredible sport, and we want to deepen the connection it has with new and existing fans through live rights, never-seen-before archive content, and our World Rugby Studios original programming.

"RugbyPass TV is the destination for global rugby content. Rugby competes with all sports and other forms of entertainment for attention, and through scaling our portfolio of direct-to-consumer products we hope to entertain and inform viewers and play a bigger role in the lives of fans.”

More live matches

Launching ahead of Rugby World Cup 2023, RugbyPass TV will ensure that everyone in the world has the ability to view World Rugby events.

The platform will ensure that every try, kick, pass and tackle is available from the tournament and accessible in every nation. It will also play a leading role in the promotion, accessibility and impact of WXV, launching this year.

World Rugby archive and exclusive content

Ahead of France 2023, RugbyPass TV will be home to every available men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup match recorded on camera, totaling more than 10,000 hours of archive content. For the first time ever, this entire archive will be available to fans.

Fans will have the ability to watch full-match replays, highlights, tries and magical moments all in one place. It will also bring together never-seen-before content and documentaries charting the magic, growth and success of one of the biggest brands in sport.

Match centre, news and gaming

RugbyPass TV marks the beginning of an impressive direct-to-consumer offering from World Rugby. The newly developed match centre and editorial hub on RugbyPass.com arms avid rugby fans with more data and statistics than ever before, while a new Fantasy Rugby offering on the RWC 2023 mobile app is the company’s first venture into gaming.

The content on the RugbyPass TV platform will continue to grow and evolve in 2024, providing fresh, globally relevant as well as localised content across the year.

• RugbyPass TV is available for free on all devices in every market globally. Click here to sign up or download the app on iOS or Android on mobile, tablet, and smart TV