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The ABC's Asia-Pacific service has signed a deal to broadcast Super 14 and Test rugby matches for the next five years.{br}{br}View the Entire Article{br}
My heart jumped at reading the headline. Unfourtunatly it appears Aus will be the only country screwed by this.
I might get my mate in Singapore to tape them and send back - how silly is that?!? Burgs - do you get this feed?
Dear Lord, if you give us back Johnny Cash, we'll give you Justin Bieber.
No I don't think so unfortunately Coach, I'll have a look tonight but I think I just get South East, Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia and WA.
Here's the same story but from the ARU, I think it has a little more info?
SANZAR announces ABC Asia Pacific as Broadcast Partner
January 24, 2006 - 2:42pm
Story by: SANZAR
The South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby Union (SANZAR) is pleased to announce ABC Asia Pacific will broadcast Super 14 and Test rugby live into 41 countries and more than 10 million homes for the next five years.
Since finalising the broadcast deals for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK and Ireland in late 2004, SANZAR has succeeded in growing the potential audience for rugby by selling the rights to additional markets in Asia, the Americas and Europe.
Starting with the inaugural 2006 Super 14 competition, which kicks off on Friday 10 February, ABC Asia Pacific will broadcast matches every Friday and Saturday as well as Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup Tests.
ABC Asia Pacific will share broadcast rights with Fiji TV throughout the Pacific, while J Sports will broadcast rugby in Japan.
Australian Rugby Union and SANZAR Chief Executive Officer Gary Flowers says the ABC Asia Pacific deal is a huge step for the game and shows continued growth in markets outside the traditional SANZAR markets.
"SANZAR has worked hard to push rugby into new and existing markets and the ABC Asia Pacific deal is a huge step into more than 40 countries with a potential viewing audience of 10 million households," said Mr Flowers.
"Rugby expands this year, with more teams in a new Super 14 competition, more matches, and a more intense home and away Tri Nations series between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa."
"There's certainly more rugby to watch in 2006 and with markets in France and Italy soon to be finalised, Super 14 and Test rugby looks set to be broadcast in some form or another to more than 60 countries."
Ian Carroll, Chief Executive of ABC Asia Pacific said:
"We are delighted to be able to offer the region exclusive access to the exciting world of rugby, a sport with millions of supporters in Asia Pacific. Fans will be able to watch an enormous amount of live Rugby, including the Super 14 series, Tri Nations Tests and Bledisloe Cup."
"This new offering is testament to ABC Asia Pacific's dedication to providing unique experiences for our audience and to bringing nations across the region together through a shared passion for sport."
In Australia, Fox Sports will act as the host broadcaster for both the Super 14 and Test season, with Channel Seven also broadcasting Test matches.
SKY NZ is the host broadcaster in New Zealand, with Prime having the free-to-air rights, while Supersport has broadcast rights to Africa.
In addition to ABC Asia Pacific showing Super 14 and Test matches, ESPN Sur has brought the broadcast rights in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia while Setanta has secured rights for Canada and the USA.