If you’ve been watching gridiron football this season and feeling the need for a little more action, there’s good news from FITE. The streaming service, which mostly specializes in combat sports, has announced that it will be carrying the Rugby League World Cup 2021 tournament, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be played this fall.
FITE will carry the tournament in the United States, as well as in more territories around the world than any other streaming platform. There will be numerous bundles available to watch the matches, including pay-per-view bundles or with a subscription to FITE+. The RLWC will be played between Oct. 15 and Nov. 19 in 21 locations across the U.K. The World Cup is being distributed in North America by Integrated Sports Media, which struck the deal with FITE to carry matches.
“We’re proud that FITE has risen above the sports media scrum and won the largest amount of territories for this major COVID-delayed event. The Rugby League World Cup has recognized our reach and reliability in trusting us to deliver this to fans worldwide,” said Michael Weber, COO of FITE. “This marks FITE’s first major move beyond its core in combat sports — even though Rugby is certainly full contact enough to keep our longtime viewers very, very happy.”
The RLWC is the crowning event of the Rugby League and is held once every four years. RLWC2021 will be a breakthrough moment in the tournament’s history with the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair competitions being staged together for the first time.
ISM President Doug Jacobs said, “Rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and we’re thrilled to be distributing Rugby League World Cup 2021 to American and international fans. Elite teams and rugby players will be in action throughout the men’s and women’s tournaments.”
FITE is a live streaming service site and app for MMA, professional wrestling, boxing, Muay Thai, traditional martial arts, and other combat sports. It streams 1,000+ live pay-per-view events from 200+ promotions. It also has subscription packages, and thousands of hours of live and VOD programming.
Earlier this year FITE also launched a free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel that features over 200 hours of sports and entertainment content from FITE’s library, live content such as press conferences, marquee events, weigh-ins, and preliminary matches.
TBD