Sky NZ, the country’s pay-TV giant, has secured exclusive domestic rights to next year’s Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) trio of tournaments.
The deal will see Sky NZ air the 2026 RLWC, which will see the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair tournaments played simultaneously in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, between October 15 and November 15.
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The deal was brokered by IMG, the sports and entertainment giant that holds an exclusive contract to manage the international media rights for the tournament.
Adam Crothers, Sky’s head of content partnerships, said: “Rugby League is one of New Zealand’s most loved codes, and its popularity continues to soar.
“We’ve seen incredible growth in fan engagement here and across the Pacific, reflecting the global momentum driven by the NRL’s success and expansion. Securing the Rugby League World Cup for Kiwi audiences is great – it’s the biggest stage for the sport, and Sky is proud to bring every moment to fans across Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Rights in Australia were snapped up last month by commercial broadcaster Seven Network, which is now the exclusive broadcast partner for the tournament.
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By GlobalDataThe men’s edition will feature 10 teams – New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, England, France, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands, Lebanon, Tonga.
The women’s edition will feature eight teams – the three host nations, England, Wales, France, Samoa, and Fiji.
The wheelchair edition, meanwhile, comprises Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and the US.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has said: “International rugby league is the ultimate stage, and representing your country is the ultimate honor. In less than a year, the Rugby League World Cup 2026 will deliver the most competitive international tournament in the game’s history.
“Rugby League is booming in New Zealand, and we are excited to be partnering with Sky to bring the best World Cup in history to Kiwi audiences.”
The 2026 tri-tournament RLWC is a replacement for the 2025 RLWC, which was canceled after France withdrew from hosting the event for financial reasons.
Australia was then announced as the replacement host for the event to be staged a year later, with a reduced field of 10 men’s teams (from a previous 16), as well as eight-team women’s and wheelchair World Cups.
France was awarded the tournament's hosting rights in January 2022, which was delayed to October and November 2025, after the original co-hosts, the US and Canada, withdrew in 2018, ending the IRL’s plans to take the tournament out of Europe and Oceania for the first time.
The last Rugby League World Cup, hosted by England, was postponed to 2022 after Australia and New Zealand withdrew from playing it in 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic.
The latest shift of the tournament from 2025 to 2026 comes as part of a revised calendar that will see the following men's edition held in 2030 and the women's and wheelchair World Cups staged separately.
Women’s World Cups will be staged as standalone tournaments from 2028 in recognition of the game’s “phenomenal rate” of growth, while a decision will be taken on when best to schedule the Wheelchair World Cup after 2026.
