HBS will continue in role until end of 2029
World Rugby has named HBS as its production partner for men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups until the end of 2029.
This time period includes Women’s Rugby World Cups in England in 2025 and Australia in 2029 and the Men’s Rugby World Cup Australia 2027, and continues the pair’s relationship since it began for the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Specifically, as host broadcaster for the tournaments, HBS will provide an overall production plan, project management, provision of broadcast equipment and technology, implementation and running of the Rugby World Cup International Broadcast Centres and servicing of rights-holding broadcasters around the world with satellite distribution, unilateral venue services and content creation services.
The last tournament HBS produced for World Rugby, the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup in France, saw 1.33 billion viewing hours, a 33% increase on the 2019 edition.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin said: “We are excited to be extending our successful partnership with HBS to project our major events to the world. HBS is aligned with our mission to grow rugby’s audience share by focusing on accessibility and relevance and we are both motivated by this challenge.
“At the heart of this partnership is innovation and we are looking forward to working with HBS teams to find creative ways to bring Rugby World Cup to fans around the world in a way they haven’t experienced it before, while finding the necessary efficiencies to limit the environmental impact of our joint production.”
HBS CEO Dan Miodownik added: “We are very proud of our collaborative partnership with World Rugby over the past years and are delighted to carry on working together for the next series of events. The growth of women’s rugby continues apace and the next edition in England ties in with the launch of our new HBS branch in the UK, and we will start this new cycle with the usual objective to keep evolving and innovating to match World Rugby’s ambition.”
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