Rugby World Cup 2015 Already Breaking Records

Rugby fans around the world will be tuning in to the Rugby World Cup 2015 opening ceremony at Twickenham later today (Friday, 19:00 GMT, 02:00 Hong Kong time on Saturday).

The opening ceremony will be followed by the first match of the six-week tournament, when hosts England take on Fiji.

The Rugby World Cup 2015, which will be hosted across 13 venues in England and Cardiff (Wales), has already broken all previous ticket sales records with 2.25 million, or 95% of tickets sold, surpassing the record set in 2007.

Every try, kick, pass and tackle will also be accessible to a potential audience of 772 million households (up by 15% over 2011) in 209 territories via 103 licensed TV broadcasters.

With 43 free-to-air broadcasters and 23,000 hours of coverage anticipated across all licensees (15,000 in 2011), the scene is set for the most-viewed Rugby World Cup to date.

“World Rugby’s mission is to grow the global rugby family and England 2015 represents a golden opportunity to reach, engage and inspire new audiences across the UK and around the world,” said World Rugby Chairman, Bernard Lapasset. “This record broadcast platform represents our commitment to make rugby available for all and demonstrates our strategic commitment to favour strong free-to-air platform coverage to more lucrative pay TV in key strategic markets such as India, Brazil, USA and China ... The stage is set for a very special and record-breaking Rugby World Cup that will be a game-changer in many territories as rugby continues to grow across every continent.”

In Thailand, TrueVisions Gold and Platinum subscribers will be able to watch the Rugby World Cup Live on Fox Sports 2, Channel 689.

See also: Pictures from 2015 Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.