ESPN signs rugby rights deal

Sports broadcaster ESPN has signed a rights agreement with Rugby World Cup Limited to show archive matches and footage from the Rugby World Cup on its ESPN Classic channel in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Content from each of the six Rugby World Cup tournaments to date will be featured on the channel in the run-up to the next Rugby World Cup in 2011. The multi-year deal also includes broadcast rights for VOD and streaming rights for ESPN’s websites, including ESPNClassic.com and ESPNScrum.com.