Rugby World Cup 2015 has already been declared a major success before a ball has been kicked.
2.25 million tickets have been sold at an average cost of €138, generating revenues from ticket sales alone of €310 million. That would be the equivalent of a decade worth of All Ireland GAA Championship and National League seasons.
The sale of tickets is important in that this is the primary way for a host nation to recoup the cost of bidding for and running the tournament.
Ireland’s Bid
Ireland’s bid for the 2023 version will need to deliver ‘hello money’ of over €100 million in order to be taken seriously as a bid. That will come from guarantees from the Governments of Dublin and Belfast but the need to recoup all revenue and create a surplus means that ticket prices will remain high.
Then again what price can you put on a once in a lifetime experience?
The commercial sponsorship and television rights deals make of the bulk of revenue and that all stays within World Rugby for distribution out to the sport through its different units.
England 2015 will be broadcast to 209 countries around the world via contacts secured through 103 broadcast partners. They include TV3 here in Ireland who hope to generate €6 million in advertising sales and have brought in sponsorship from Land Rover worth €450,000. They still won’t make a profit but Rugby will.
Broadcast deals
Broadcast deals are worth 60% of the total revenue that will be generated from the tournament. The broadcasters are squeezing the value producing 23,000 hours of coverage, up from 15,000 in 2011.
The time zone of playing close to Greenwich Mean Time makes a big difference to this important factor. Unfortunately this will not be a trump card for Ireland as all four of the bidders for 2023 are in a similar general range of time zones.
In terms of commercial partnerships the 2015 tournament has raised the bar significantly on previous editions.
Partners
The list of full partners is impressive.
Heineken, Land Rover, Société Générale, DHL, Emirates and MasterCard are the top line Rugby World Cup 2015 Worldwide Partners.
The next line of official sponsors includes Coca-Cola, Canon, Toshiba and Fujitsu.
Gilbert is the official ball supplier and Canterbury of New Zealand is the official sportswear supplier. Clifford Chance is the official law firm, EY the official business advisor, Dove Men+Care the official male grooming supplier, Duracell the official battery provider, William Grant and Sons the official spirits and Champagne provider, Heathrow the official tournament provider, Tissot the official timekeeper and ESP holds master licensee rights.
All in all the commercial revenues around the tournament will help produce a planned surplus of €200 million, a full 50% or more higher than the previous record set in New Zealand in 2011. That goes back to develop the sport around the World.
In addition Repucom estimates that the individual countries will have generated €175 million in their own sponsorship arrangement such as with Three and Diageo here.
It’s big business then. Now, let the games commence.
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