Every match at this year's Rugby League World Cup "will be shown live" on free-to-air TV under a deal with the Seven Network, according to Brad Walter of THE AGE. In a move that "will have a network other than Nine broadcast league for the first time in more than 20 years," the Rugby League Int'l Federation "has awarded the rights for the 14-nation tournament to Seven." It is the first time the World Cup rights "have been sold separately to the premiership, State of Origin and Test matches." Seven CEO Tim Worner said that the network "had also secured the online and mobile rights" (THE AGE, 6/24). In Sydney, Michael Bodey reported it is "another mischievous sports acquisition by Seven in which the network has slipped in under a sport's incumbent broadcaster and the latest example of free-to-air television's increasing desire to purchase sports to broadcast across multi-channels and all platforms." Seven will broadcast all matches from its 7mate channel and across online and mobile. Worner said that the Rugby League World Cup "is an extraordinary event and fits perfectly with our portfolio of major sports events that we can drive across our broadcast television platform and our emerging and developing online and mobile content platforms" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/24).
