IRB Sevens manager, Mark Egan, said: “The Dubai and George Sevens in December 2004 had a television broadcast reach of over 100 million homes across 120 countries with 156 hours of coverage. With repeat coverage and new broadcasters set to televise highlights the eventual airtime will double to a massive 300 hours.”
“This represents an increase of 125 per cent in TV broadcast coverage over the same two tournaments in 2003. Undoubtedly, this increase is being driven by the growing popularity of sevens and the increasing success of the emerging countries in the series which is exciting for the future of the game,” added Mr Egan.
IRB chief executive, Mike Miller, said: “These very positive figures follow the record broadcast coverage for the 2003/04 IRB Sevens and the 121 per cent increase in broadcasting for Rugby World Cup 2003. Clearly rugby is continuing to grow in popularity and is generating huge interest worldwide.”
The increase is said to be due to the amount of live and “as live” broadcast coverage reflected in a record six broadcasters taking 54 hours live in Dubai - a 360 per cent increase on the previous year - while the George event enjoyed an additional 12 hours of live coverage through three new broadcasters. I
In addition, a further five broadcasters took 12 hours of tape delayed coverage from the South African tournament.
An increased number of TV news and feature packages were also broadcast via satellite to ensure prime time exposure globally, and for the first time the IRB provided a free syndicated radio service featuring tournament reports and player interviews. Over 50 radio stations broadcast news from this service including the BBC World Service.
