FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 27th, 2019

“NBC SPORTS PUB PASS” ADDS EXCLUSIVE RUGBY WORLD CUP COVERAGE

Provided to Commercial Establishments, Rugby World Cup Pub Pass to Live Stream All 48 Tournament Games

All Games Presented Live, Commercial-Free and On-Demand

World Cup 2019 Begins with Russia v. Host Nation Japan on Sept. 20 at 6 a.m. ET on NBCSN

22 Games Available Exclusively on Pub Pass & NBC Sports Gold, Including Two Each from All Top-Five Nations

All Team USA Matches to be Shown Live; USA Kicks Off its Tournament v. England on Sept. 26 at 6 a.m. ET

Unprecedented 250+ Hours of Rugby World Cup 2019 Matches & Programming Across NBC Sports Platforms

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 27, 2019 – Rugby World Cup 2019 offerings are now available to U.S. commercial establishments through the NBC Sports Pub Pass – a new customizable direct-to-consumer platform developed specifically for the retail pub/restaurant market in the U.S. – adding to NBC Sports’ most comprehensive U.S. coverage of the Rugby World Cup ever.

Through the Rugby World Cup Pub Pass, all 48 tournament matches will be available live, commercial-free and on-demand. Exclusive pre-game shows and original programming and content will also be available to subscribers when NBC Sports’ extensive coverage of the Rugby World Cup begins on Friday, Sept. 20, with Russia v. host-nation Japan at 6 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

All Team U.S. matches – including all four pool play matches – will be available through Pub Pass and NBCSN will televise all U.S. matches live. Team USA will compete in Pool C against Argentina, England, France and Tonga. Following is Team USA’s pool play schedule:

    • Thursday, September 26 at 6:45 a.m. ET v. England
    • Wednesday, October 2 at 3:35 a.m. ET v. France
    • Wednesday, October 9 at 12:45 a.m. ET v. Argentina
    • Sunday, October 13 at 1:45 a.m. ET v. Tonga

 

Pub Pass and NBC Sports Gold will carry 22 tournament matches exclusively. In pool play, two games each from the following nations will be available exclusively on NBC Sports Gold and Pub Pass: Wales (ranked No. 1 in the world), New Zealand (No. 2), Ireland (No. 3) South Africa (No. 4) and England (No. 5). In the knockout round, two quarterfinal matches will also be presented exclusively on Gold.

Highlights of exclusive matches in pool play include:

    • Saturday, September 21 at 3:15 a.m. ET: France v. Argentina
    • Saturday, September 21 at 5:45 a.m. ET: New Zealand v. South Africa
    • Sunday, September 22 at 3:45 a.m. ET: Ireland v. Scotland
    • Saturday, September 28 at 3:15 a.m. ET: Japan v. Ireland
    • Sunday, September 29 at 3:45 a.m. ET: Australia v. Wales
    • Saturday, October 5 at 4 a.m. ET: England v. Argentina
    • Saturday, October 12 at 4:15 a.m. ET: England v. France

 

Earlier this month, NBC Sports and AEG announced the creation and delivery of “NBC Sports Pub Pass”, a customizable platform developed to deliver a package of the most popular international sports and sporting competitions for their patrons. Users who have already subscribed to NBC Sports Pub Pass can add the Rugby World Cup pass to their pre-existing subscription at a discounted rate.

The first-of-its-kind Pub Pass is packaged, targeted and sold to pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants and commercial establishments nationwide as an exclusive subscription service, providing premium content for rugby, soccer, and cycling all within a single subscription.

Notably, there will no longer be a required entrance fee or cover charge to patrons at the door for any matches, as other providers of international sport previously required.

Over the course of the six-week tournament, NBC Sports will present more than 250 hours of Rugby World Cup 2019 matches, original programming and additional Rugby World Cup content across NBC Sports platforms.

The pool play round consists of 40 matches – divided amongst four pools consisting of five nations each – that run through Sunday, Oct. 13.

The quarterfinals will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 20, while the semifinals will be played on the following weekend of Saturday, Oct. 26, and Sunday, Oct. 27.

The Rugby World Cup Final will be held on Saturday, Nov. 2, from International Stadium Yokohama. Both semifinal matches and the World Cup Final will be available live on NBC Sports Gold and re-aired on NBC. NBCSN will also present live coverage of the 2019 Final.

The Rugby World Cup is part of an extensive collection of rugby programming across NBC Sports platforms which spans the calendar year, including Gallagher Premiership Rugby beginning in October, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with women’s series beginning in October and men’s series beginning in December, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

For more information on the NBC Sports Pub Pass or to subscribe, visit www.nbcpubpass.com or call 833-444-7PUB (833-444-7782).

 

Highlights of NBC Sports Pub Pass:

    • NEW sports platform, created specifically for commercial premises

 

    • AFFORDABLE pricing in a single annual subscription

 

    • GAMES live and replays from:

 

      • Rugby– 2019 World Cup, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Six Nations Championship, Champions Cup and Premiership Rugby
      • Cycling– Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Amgen Tour of California, Paris–Roubaix

 

    • EXCLUSIVE CONTENT not shown on linear TV:

                o   Soccer – 140 live Premier League matches, not shown on TV

                o   Rugby – 185 live matches, not shown on TV

                o   Cycling – extra hours of each stage of top races, not shown on TV 

 

    • TURNKEY product, Amazon fire stick technology with NBC Sports Pub Pass, allowing easy setup and use

 

    • MARKETING SUPPORT provided to commercial establishments as part of subscription, including printed and digital marketing materials, to help establishments bring in customers

 

    • CUSTOMER SERVICE provided to commercial establishments as part of subscription, including via phone and email

 

    • NO charging patrons entrance fee at the door, as other providers of international sport previously required; Your Bar, Your Business

 

-NBC SPORTS-