BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 02: The Australian Kangaroos celebrate victory as captain Cameron Smith holds up the world cup trophy after the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final between the Australian Kangaroos and England at Suncorp Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The 2022 Rugby League World Cup will reportedly be broadcast by Foxtel in Australia.
It has been unclear who may broadcast the tournament to Australia, with an unfavourable timezone not making it an attractive proposition to networks who would traditionally broadcast the sport in Australia.
According to Sport Business however, the rights to the tournament have been secured by Foxtel who will broadcast all matches through Fox Sports and their 24/7 rugby league channel, Fox League.
It means the entire tournament will be going behind a paywall for Australian audiences for the first time since 2000.
The 2017 edition, which was hosted in Australia and New Zealand, was broadcast by Channel 7, while the 2013 edition was also on the free to air network, albeit on their back up channel 7Mate with games held in the English time zone, making it unfavourable for Australian broadcasters.
The 2008 edition saw some patches on free to air through Channel 9 and the remainder on Fox Sports, while there was an eight-year gap to the tournament prior to that, with the 2000 edition broadcast by Fox Sports out of England in its entirety.
It’s believed the broadcast deal with the Pay TV network for the 2022 tournament – which was originally supposed to be held in 2021 before being postponed due to coronavirus and travel restrictions around it – will see all men’s and women’s games broadcast by the network.
The tournament kicks off on October 15 in England, with Australia looking to defend their crown from 2017. The final will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester on November 19.
Source:: ZeroTackle
