As the Rugby World Cup heads to its conclusion, World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper said that the tournament has "exceeded expectations both on and off the field," according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. Gosper said that the '15 event has been the "most commercially successful World Cup to date." Gosper: "The commercial value is up by 50% on 2011. That includes money from sponsors, broadcast revenue -- of which the main part is TV rights -- and hospitality. All of these areas have done fantastically well. That is all revenue that we reinvest in the game." Gosper said that a "strong financial platform" has been created by having the team of business partners and sponsors all signed up one year before the start of the Rugby World Cup, something World Rugby "had never managed to do before." He said that there will be some £150M ($231.2M) accruing from the event to reinvest in the sport around the world, "including in new markets for the game." In addition, the current Rugby World Cup has "broken all records for online interaction." On TV viewing numbers, Gosper said that there have been record TV audiences "in traditional markets, but also in new markets." In one non-core market -- Germany, which has never taken part in a Rugby World Cup finals -- 3 million people tuned in to watch the England vs. Australia group game. Gosper also said that England's Rugby Football Union, as the host rugby union, was set to "financially benefit from strong ticket sales" during the World Cup, as it will retain match gate receipts. Some 2.42 million tickets have been sold, exceeding the 2.25 million figure for France RWC 2007 (BBC, 10/21).
