Defender to sponsor ITV’s Rugby World Cup coverage
September 1, 2023
ITV has announced that the global partner of the Rugby World Cup tournament, Land Rover’s Defender, will be sponsoring this year’s coverage across ITV1, ITV4 and ITVX.
The deal will see the brand take complete sponsorship of the coverage across the network during September and October, and is Land Rover’s third consecutive tournament with the Rugby World Cup on ITV.
The package will include sponsor accreditation on all ITV coverage of the Rugby World Cup across live viewing, streaming on ITVX and catch up on ITV linear broadcast. In addition, there will be a social package across all ITV platforms.
With this year’s tournament being hosted entirely in France for the first time, this will be the tenth men’s Rugby World Cup and it will take place at nine different venues throughout the country. The opening game and the final will be hosted at the Stade de France, just North of Paris.
Simon Daglish, Group Commercial Director, ITV said: “The Rugby World Cup is a jewel in ITV’s sporting calendar this autumn. To welcome Defender back as a sponsor for the third consecutive tournament, is testament to the continued success, strength and collaborative nature of the partnership between the iconic brands.”
Anthony Bradbury, Marketing Director, JLR UK, said: “We have been proud partners of Rugby World Cup since 2011. This long-standing affiliation celebrates strength, capability and durability against a backdrop of excellence, so it’s a perfect parallel for Defender. Bringing the tournament to the British viewers with ITV is the perfect way to amplify our partnership.”
Hearts & Science is the media planning and buying agency for JLR.