FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 9th, 2018
NBC SPORTS SETS RECORDS WITH RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS COVERAGE
NBC Sports’ Rugby World Cup Sevens Coverage Reaches Nearly 9 Million Viewers
July 22 Coverage on NBC Believed to Be Most-Watched Live Rugby Telecast on Record; NBCSN Scores Its Most-Watched Rugby Telecast Ever
STAMFORD, Conn., – August 9, 2018 – NBC Sports’ comprehensive coverage of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens from AT&T Park in San Francisco, Calif., from July 20-22, featured numerous viewership milestones, highlighted by what is believed to be the most-watched live rugby telecast on record.
NBC Sports’ coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens reached nearly 9 million viewers across five telecasts on NBC and NBCSN. NBC Sports presented a pair of telecasts on NBC, punctuated by coverage on Sunday, July 22 (2:30-5 p.m. ET), which averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.365 million viewers, ranking as what is believed to be the most-watched live rugby telecast on record in the U.S.
July 22’s telecast on NBCSN (7:33-9:37 p.m. ET), which was highlighted by live coverage of the championship final in which New Zealand defeated England, 33-12, averaged a TAD of 370,000 viewers to rank as NBCSN’s most-watched rugby telecast on record. Streaming coverage across NBC Sports’ digital platforms delivered 1.7 million live minutes and 36,000 uniques.
“The record-setting viewership of the Rugby World Cup Sevens on NBC and NBCSN demonstrates that fans recognize NBC Sports is home to the best rugby in the world,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “We’re proud of how well received our coverage was in San Francisco, and look forward to presenting the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019 and rugby sevens at the Olympics from Tokyo in 2020.”
NBC Sports’ coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens is part of a multi-year agreement with World Rugby, which includes media rights on all platforms and in all languages to the Rugby World Cups in 2019 and 2023; the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2021; the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2022; and the annual World Rugby U20 Championships through 2023. NBC Sports’ robust rugby portfolio also includes exclusive Olympic rugby coverage through 2032, the Six Nations Championship, and Premiership Rugby.
Overall, NBC Sports presented more than 30 hours of live Rugby World Cup Sevens coverage across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Group’s direct-to-consumer product, representing the most robust U.S. coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in the event’s history.
ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP
When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, IndyCar and many more.
–NBC SPORTS–
