The 2021 edition of the competition will be taking place in October and November of this year.

Rugby League World Cup 2021 logo(1)

Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) has appointed UK-based agency RDA to support it with the handling of international media distribution rights.

The agreement covers all territories outside of the UK and Ireland, where the BBC will be broadcasting every match of the event across its platforms. This means RDA’s deal includes the key markets of Australia and New Zealand.

RDA has worked with rugby league, rugby union, cricket, and football in the past, and will be marketing a Rugby League World Cup that for the first time has the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair versions running concurrently.

32 teams from 21 nations are involved, with the 61 matches taking place over three weeks at 21 stadiums around England - including major football grounds such as St James’ Park, Anfield, Emirates Stadium, Elland Road and Old Trafford.

RLWC2021 commercial dierector, Jonathen Neill, said: “The appointment of RDA as our international media distribution rights agency supports our ambition to make this the biggest, best, most accessible and viewed Rugby League World Cup ever.

“Our broadcast distribution and coverage is critical to that and we want to ensure that as many people as possible around the world are able to watch and engage with the tournament, both in established rugby league territories such as Australia and New Zealand, but also in new and emerging markets.”

“This also enables us to generate additional income and deliver a profitable tournament, whilst creating a legacy for the International Rugby League (IRL) - who we are collaborating with on our broadcast strategy and activity - for future men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cups.”

RDA CEO, Richard Dennis, added: “RLWC2021 will be world class and one of the biggest sporting events in the UK this year. With an outstanding production in place, we’re looking forward to working with broadcasters in established rugby league markets and bringing the tournament to viewers in countries that are new to the sport.”