TNT Sports, the UK pay-TV heavyweight owned by media giant Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), has secured rights to HSBC SVNS, World Rugby’s recently rebranded top-tier rugby sevens series, across the UK and Ireland for the next two seasons.
Under the deal, the broadcaster, formerly known as BT Sports, gains full linear and digital rights to show all HSBC SVNS events live starting from this season’s fourth round in Vancouver, Canada from February 23 to 25 until the end of the 2024-25 campaign via its TNT Sports linear channel and discovery+ streaming platform.
TNT’s coverage will also include post-match and in-game interviews with players and coaches, as well as additional feature and storytelling programs to capture the event.
Trojan Paillot, senior vice president of sports rights acquisitions and syndication at WBD said: “In a historic year for the sport, we’re pleased to further expand our huge and varied premium rugby offer for fans in the UK and Ireland.”
The new rights add to WBD’s growing rugby portfolio, which already includes this year’s Paris Olympic Games, which will feature its first rugby sevens competition at the Stade de France from July 24 to 30. It also secured a multi-year deal to show the Women’s Premiership Rugby domestic competition in November, adding to its coverage of the men’s Premiership Rugby, Champions Cup, and EPCR Challenge Cup.
Outside of rugby, TNT Sports snapped up rights to English soccer’s FA Cup competition from the 2025-26 season last week after striking a deal with the Football Association (FA) governing body.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has said: “The revamped HSBC SVNS has already captured hearts and minds since the beginning of the season and we are delighted to bring its iconic destinations, fantastic action on the pitch, and immersive music and food experiences off it on the TNT Sports channels.
“This partnership will help broaden the reach and appeal of rugby sevens in a hugely exciting time for the sport.”
The inaugural season of the competition’s rebrand is taking place across eight cities as a festival event under a new format, which launched in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing at the same location from December 2 to 3. The number of men’s sides has been reduced from 16 to 12 to align with the Olympic competition model.
The festival has since traveled to Cape Town, South Africa from December 9 to 10 and Perth, Australia from January 26 to 28, 2024, and will move on to Vancouver, Canada from 23 to 25 February; Los Angeles, USA from March 2 to 3; Hong Kong from April 5 to 7; Singapore from May 3 to 5; before ending in Madrid, Spain, between May 31 and June 2.
The top eight teams at the end of Singapore SVNS will compete in the new grand final in Madrid, where the women’s and men’s SVNS champions will be crowned.
Madrid will also host the relegation play-off competition where the teams ranked 9th to 12th after Singapore will compete with the top four teams from the second-tier World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, with the best four sides from that competition gaining spots in next year's SVNS.
As part of the rebrand, banking giant HSBC, the series’ naming partner for 12 years, extended its deal for another four.
All seven rounds and the Grand Final of SVNS have equal participation fees for the men’s and women’s competitions, with World Rugby’s investment in participation fees also increasing by 70%.
