RTÉ and Virgin Media Television have begun selling advertising packages for this autumn’s Rugby World Cup, with a 30-second spot running during half-time in all 48 games set to cost advertisers €360,000.
A half-time advertisement running during the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final is priced at €170,000, with the same placement for all four of Ireland’s pool games costing €95,000 and one in a single Ireland game costing €26,500.
Lower rates are available for ads that run before and after the match or in breaks during or after the studio coverage, with only an ad right at the whistle coming close to the half-time price.
Accountability for bankers and how it will work
RTÉ and Virgin expect the action to bring in bumper audiences and revenues in September and October based on the recent performance of rugby on television as well as the fact that Ireland is a contender to win the tournament. A separate sponsorship offer launched last month for all 48 matches was priced at €600,000 for one sponsor, or €325,000 each for two.
But the two broadcasters, which announced in March that they had jointly sealed the television rights, stand to make more money in spot advertising if Ireland progress deep into the tournament.
A half-time ad running during an Ireland quarter-final and an Ireland semi-final will bring in €30,000 and €35,500 respectively. But ads running in quarter-finals and semi-finals that do not feature Ireland will only yield €17,500 and €23,500 respectively.
If Ireland makes the final, a half-time ad will be priced at €56,000. If it does not, the price is €37,000 for each such ad.
Both RTÉ and Virgin will show the final. Virgin’s Ireland pool games are the ones against Romania on Saturday, September 9th, and Scotland on Saturday, October 7th. Virgin will also broadcast the Ireland quarter-final, if the team makes it that far.
Pool games
RTÉ's Ireland pool games are the ones against Tonga on Saturday, September 16th, and South Africa on Saturday, September 23rd. RTÉ will also broadcast Ireland’s semi-final, if it gets that far, as well as the opening match of the tournament — hosts France versus New Zealand on Friday, September 8th.
The partnership between RTÉ and Virgin follows their alliance on the television rights to the Six Nations, with such deals allowing both broadcasters to contain their costs.
For the 2019 Rugby World Cup, RTÉ agreed a sub-licencing deal with then-rights holders Eir Sport for 14 live games, with these games attracting an average audience of 360,000 on RTÉ2, rising to 589,000 for Ireland’s games.
The 2019 tournament also generated 1.43 million streams on the RTÉ Player, a figure that will likely be surpassed this year. RTÉ and Virgin have priced 500,000 impressions for an ad on their players at €27,500.
Bookmakers, meanwhile, are not permitted to buy television advertising during a match as part of a voluntary “whistle-to-whistle” ban for live sport.
