Following the historic inclusion of Rugby Sevens into the 2016 Olympic Games, the International Rugby Board has announced its broadcast team for the upcoming 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series.
Pro-Active Television has been re-appointed as Broadcast Service Partner. The UK-based company has been representing the IRB since 2004, negotiating broadcast rights and co-ordinating live TV production of the eight global tournaments that comprise the record-breaking World Series, playing a prominent role in driving year-on-year increases in broadcasters, nations and live hours of Series coverage.
"We are delighted to announce the re-appointment of Pro-Active TV as Broadcast Service Partners for the 2009/2010 IRB Sevens World Series," said IRB Sevens Manager Beth Coalter. "Pro-Active's high quality of expertise and global sales strategy has been a major factor in Rugby Sevens' success story."
The 2008/09 IRB Sevens World Series set new broadcast and attendance records, generating over 1000 hours of live television coverage, with over 120 countries broadcasting the highly competitive action as South Africa secured their first Series title.
In addition to record Series coverage, Pro-Active generated record figures for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 in Dubai, where a global audience of nearly 750 million, watched the drama unfold via a record 141 broadcasters, including significantly increased coverage in emerging Rugby markets such as China, Russia and India.
"We have always known that Sevens is a perfect fit for television. We are proud of our involvement in this exciting and competitive sport and are looking forward to continuing our excellent relationship with the IRB to take Rugby Sevens to new broadcast levels," said Tommasina Kay, Director, Pro-Active Television.
The IRB has also appointed new production company
78Seventy for the 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series.
78Seventy will be responsible for the 26-minute highlights show from each of the eight events, as well as other news-related content from the Series.
In addition, the World Series will continue its relationship with
HourGlass Vision as Competition Systems Integrators, working with both event hosts and the IRB to deliver tournament registration services, broadcast graphics, match data and official match timing.
"We are excited by the prospect of working with 78Seventy and continuing the relationship with HourGlass Vision, both of whom combine specialist Sevens knowledge with a cutting edge in technical expertise," added Coalter.
"We believe this combination gives the IRB Sevens World Series and its tournaments the ideal broadcast team to go forward over the coming year."
The 2009/2010 IRB Sevens World Series kicks off with the popular Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens on December 4-5 and visits South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Australia, Hong Kong and England before climaxing on May 29-30 at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens in Scotland.
