Ten poised to show World Cup
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Network Ten are in the final stages of negotiating to broadcast next year's rugby union World Cup.
Much speculation has surrounded the reported $10 million deal and Ten are tipped to make an announcement shortly.
"There has been a lot of speculation over the past few months about the Rugby World Cup being broadcast on Ten," a spokesman for the network said.
"Ten is continuing to negotiate with Rugby World Cup. We hope to be able to make announcement in the near future."
The World Cup will be held in France from September 2007.
The last World Cup tournament was played four years ago in Australia with the event broadcast on the Seven Network.
With little sport on their future television slate, gaining the rights would be a major coup for Ten, which had lost the rights to screen the V8 Supercars to Seven.
It could also pave the way for the provincial Super 14 competition to return to free-to-air television.
Screening the Super 14 - possibly up to 18 hours after full-time - was believed to have been an important part of Ten's World Cup bid.
It is believed the network would televise only those games involving the Australian Super 14 teams - the NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, Queensland Reds and Western Force.
However, after more than a decade absence, rugby is set to tackle Ten viewers next month with the broadcast of the Wallabies Spring Tour.
Rugby last screened on Ten in 1995 with the World Cup played in South Africa.
Ten will screen live broadcasts of all four international Tests played against Wales, Italy, Ireland and Scotland, with same day replays of each Test.
Bill Woods will host the broadcast with new recruit, Wallaby Ben Tune, as well as local commentary over the series.
"Ten is very enthusiastic about bringing rugby back to the network," Ten's general manager of sport David White said.
"We are pleased that Ben has agreed to join Ten for the spring tour."
Tune, a veteran of 47 Test caps, made his debut for the Wallabies against Wales in 1996.
He said he was thrilled to be joining the Network and hoped it would bring more good fortune to Ten.
"The tour will be an important precursor to the Wallabies World Cup campaign," said Tune.
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) welcome Ten hosting the Spring Tour.
"We welcome Network Ten back into the Rugby fold and look forward to working with them to maximise the exposure of the Wallabies across Australia," ARU chief executive officer and managing director Gary Flowers said.
"Free-to-air coverage is crucial for our game, so it is great to know Network Ten will be going live into nearly every market."
AAP