For further information:
Louise Zayed
Senior Press Officer
Tel: +353 1 419 3428
louise.zayed@tv3.ie
Kevin Shore
Press Officer
Tel: +353 1 419 3387
kevin.shore@virginmedia.ie
publicity@tv3.ie
TV3 GROUP RELEASE
IMMEDIATE: Tuesday 15th April, 2014
TV3 Group Wins Rights to Rugby World Cup 2015.
TV3 will manage the broadcast of live coverage of all 48 matches and will also deliver a TV, digital and mobile highlights offering.
TV3 is delighted to announce that it has won the Irish rights to broadcast next year’s Rugby World Cup. The announcement was made by both TV3 and Rugby World Cup Limited at a press conference in Dublin earlier this morning.
Under the terms of the deal, TV3 will manage the broadcast of live coverage of all 48 matches and will also deliver a TV, digital and mobile highlights offering.
All of the Ireland matches and final stages of the tournament will be broadcast free to air. TV3, as the broadcaster with the most advanced HD infrastructure in Ireland, is currently in discussion with platform operators to carry TV3 HD from mid-2015.
Niall Cogley, TV3 Group director of broadcasting will be the executive producer of TV3s coverage.
The tournament takes place in England and Wales from September 18th to October 31st 2015.
TV3 Group CEO David McRedmond said: “TV3 is honoured to have been awarded these prestigious rights by the International Rugby Board. We are quite sure that Rugby World Cup will be the stand out sporting event in 2015, which will anchor our 2015 Autumn Schedule. Rugby following in Ireland is at an all-time high following successes in the Heineken Cup and most recently the success of Joe Schmidt’s Ireland team in the six nations.
“As Ireland’s leading commercial broadcaster TV3 is building its strongest ever schedule of originated programming. The Rugby World Cup win is an endorsement of the strategy to invest in the most relevant content for Irish audiences and advertisers.”
Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Ireland has traditionally been a strong and passionate Rugby market and we are delighted to be appointing a broadcaster that shares our passion for sport and our showcase event.
“TV3 has played a leading role in the promotion of sport in Ireland and we are excited by their innovative plans to broadcast Rugby World Cup 2015. We look forward to working in partnership to deliver an exciting experience for sports fans in Ireland.”
TV3 Group Director of Broadcasting, Niall Cogley said: “If Ireland can beat Canada, Romania and Italy in the opening games, we'll play France in Cardiff on October 11th for the privilege of avoiding New Zealand in the quarter-final. With Joe Schmidt's now legendary attention to detail, we like to imagine that Ireland's first ever involvement in a Rugby World Cup semi-final is a real possibility next year.
“TV3’s recent investment in one of the most advanced HD Studios in these islands and the replacement of core technology will allow TV3 to show the World Cup at its best. Over the coming year we will build the best rugby broadcast team to delight our viewers.”
Detailed plans for TV3’s coverage are now advancing. It is expected that the broadcaster will broadcast about 20 matches on TV3 and the remainder on 3e although TV3 has not ruled out some sub-licenses to other Irish broadcasters. Announcements regarding Studio, Commentary and Touchline broadcast teams will be made in due course. TV3 also confirms it is in discussions with respective platforms regarding the launch of TV3 HD in the first half of 2015.
Images from today’s press conference at The Mansion House are available on request and have been sent to your picture desks.
Images from today’s press conference at The Mansion House are available on request and have been sent to your picture desks.
ENDS
For further information
Ciara Byrne – Press Officer – 01 419 3329/087 319 9732
Sharon McHugh – Head of Press & Publicity – 087 922 4143
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About TV3
Launched in 1998, TV3 is the largest commercial channel in Ireland with an 11% market share for Adults 15+, reaching over 2.7 million individuals each week and over 3.5 million individuals each month. TV3 has a bigger market share for Adults 15+ than BBC1, UTV, Channel 4 and Sky 1 combined.
TV3 Group remains Ireland’s only free-to-air national commercial broadcast company, a status which allows them to represent and provide for viewers independently and without vested interests. The network continues to differentiate itself through an emphasis on Irish and home produced programming, with approximately 40% of its current schedule produced in Ireland.
The development of the brand new Sony HD Studio has allowed for the production of bigger formats and even better content for distribution – giving scope for greater impact in the international market. Recent commissions include Tonight with Vincent Browne, Celebrity Apprentice: You’re Fired!, Factomania (360 Productions – a BBC Worldwide format), the new ShowPal™ commercial, Keith Barry: Brain Hacker and Tyrone Production’s School Around The Corner, as well as new shiny floor game shows The Lie and Crossfire. TV3 is also currently in discussions with a number of production companies in relation to a proposed new soap opera planned for 2015.
Today, TV3 Group has firmly established itself as the leader in TV entertainment in Ireland. While TV3 strikes the perfect balance between light hearted fun, home-grown daytime viewing and authentic original programming, its sister channel 3e, which was re-branded in 2009, targets a slightly younger audience, and has a bigger share of Adults 15-34 than UTV, BBC2 and E4.
About Rugby World Cup: Rugby World Cup is the financial engine behind unprecedented investment and growth in Rugby worldwide. The net Rugby World Cup surplus from the commercial success of France 2007 and New Zealand 2011 has enabled the International Rugby Board to invest more than £150 million in the Game between 2009 and 2012 and commit an anticipated injection of more than £180 million between 2013 and 2016 to underwrite a large range of major funding initiatives including annual national Union grants and strategic investments focusing on growing participation and increasing competition across all 119 national Member Unions affiliated to the IRB.
About England 2015: Rugby World Cup 2015, hosted in England between September 18 and October 31, will be a celebration of Rugby and its unique character-building values, exciting and inspiring the nation and the world to play and support the Game. England Rugby 2015 are the organising committee for Rugby World Cup 2015 and will deliver the six-week tournament, hosted in 10 English cities and in Cardiff, Wales. Thirteen match venues will play host to the 48 games that will celebrate and engage 2.5 million spectators, including more than 400,000 international travelling fans.
RWC 2015 Match schedule:
Date
Pool
Match
Location
Kick Off
Fri Sept 18
OPENING CEREMONY
Twickenham
7.00pm
Fri Sept 18
A
England v Oceania 1
Twickenham
8.00pm
Sat Sept 19
C
Tonga v Georgia
Gloucester
12.00pm
Sat Sept 19
D
Ireland v Canada
Cardiff
2.30pm
Sat Sept 19
D
France v Italy
Twickenham
5.00pm
Sat Sept 19
B
South Africa v Asia 1
Brighton
8.00pm
Sun Sept 20
B
Samoa v USA
Brighton
12.00pm
Sun Sept 20
A
Wales v Play-off Winner
Cardiff
2.30pm
Sun Sept 20
C
New Zealand v Argentina
Wembley
5.00pm
Wed Sept 23
B
Scotland v Asia 1
Gloucester
2.30pm
Wed Sept 23
A
Australia v Oceania 1
Cardiff
5.00pm
Wed Sept 23
D
France v Romania
Olympic Stadium
8.00pm
Thu Sept 24
C
New Zealand v Africa 1
Olympic Stadium
8.00pm
Fri Sept 25
C
Argentina v Georgia
Gloucester
5.00pm
Sat Sept 26
D
Italy v Canada
Leeds
2.30pm
Sat Sept 26
B
South Africa v Samoa
Birmingham
5.00pm
Sat Sept 26
A
England v Wales
Twickenham
8.00pm
Sun Sept 27
A
Australia v Play-off Winner
Birmingham
12.00pm
Sun Sept 27
B
Scotland v USA
Leeds
2.30pm
Sun Sept 27
D
Ireland v Romania
Wembley
5.00pm
Tue Sept 29
C
Tonga v Africa 1
Exeter
5.00pm
Thurs Oct 1
D
France v Canada
Stadium MK
5.00pm
Thurs Oct 1
A
Wales v Oceania 1
Cardiff
8.00pm
Fri Oct 2
C
New Zealand v Georgia
Cardiff
8.00pm
Sat Oct 3
B
Samoa v Asia 1
Milton Keynes
2.30pm
Sat Oct 3
B
South Africa v Scotland
Newcastle
5.00pm
Sat Oct 3
A
England v Australia
Twickenham
8.00pm
Sun Oct 4
C
Argentina v Tonga
Leicester
2.30pm
Sun Oct 4
D
Ireland v Italy
Olympic Stadium
5.00pm
Tues Oct 6
D
Canada v Romania
Leicester
5.00pm
Tues Oct 6
A
Oceania 1 v Play-off winner
Milton Keynes
8.00pm
Wed Oct 7
B
South Africa v USA
Olympic Stadium
5.00pm
Wed Oct 7
C
Africa 1 v Georgia
Exeter
8.00pm
Fri Oct 9
C
New Zealand v Tonga
Newcastle
8.00pm
Sat Oct 10
B
Samoa v Scotland
Newcastle
2.30pm
Sat Oct 10
A
Australia v Wales
Twickenham
5.00pm
Sat Oct 10
A
England v Play-off Winner
Man City Stadium
8.00pm
Sun Oct 11
C
Argentina v Africa 1
Leicester
12.00pm
Sun Oct 11
D
Italy v Romania
Exeter
2.30pm
Sun Oct 11
D
France v Ireland
Cardiff
5.00pm
Sun Oct 11
B
USA v Asia 1
Gloucester
8.00pm
Knockout Phase
Sat Oct 17
QF1: W Pool C v RU Pool D
Cardiff
2.00pm
Sat Oct 17
QF2: W Pool B v RU Pool A
Twickenham
5.00pm
Sun Oct 18
QF3: Winner Pool D v RU Pool C
Cardiff
2.00pm
Sun Oct 18
QF4: W Pool A v RU Pool B
Twickenham
5.00pm
Sat Oct 24
SF1: W QF1 v W QF2
Twickenham
5.00pm
Sun Oct 25
SF2: W QF3 v W QF4
Twickenham
5.00pm
Fri Oct 30
Bronze Final
Olympic Stadium
8.00pm
Sat Oct 31
Final
Twickenham
5.00pm
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