The 2019 Rugby World Cup is set to be more accessible than ever in 2019, with Australia’s official free to air broadcaster Channel Ten expanding their programming to provide fans more TV and digital coverage.
Network Ten originally announced several months ago that a total of 10 Rugby World Cup free to air matches would be available to Australian fans, a schedule that included Australia’s four Group matches, two quarter-finals (including, of course, the Wallabies’ game should they advance out of the Group Stage), one semi-final, the third-place play-off and the finals. Just recently though, it appears that Network Ten have expanded their World Cup menu to include additional games and features across channel Ten, Ten Play and Ten BOLD. Here’s what’s known about the programing change at this time.
Channel Ten Expands Rugby World Cup Free to Air TV Programming
Channel Ten’s coverage of the Rugby World Cup was originally scheduled to kick off when the Wallabies open their tournament with a huge clash against Fiji at Sapporo Dome on the afternoon of Saturday, 21st of September. However, it now appears that the opening match involving Russia vs Japan on Friday, the 20th of September, will kick off the free to air broadcaster’s live Rugby World Cup coverage across a combination of 10, 10 Play and 10 BOLD. This would equal eleven live matches vs the ten that were announced just a short time ago. Additionally, it’s been reported that digital replays of the games that channel Ten airs will be included on their streaming service 10 Play.
While this represents an expansion of the Rugby World Cup coverage offered by the free to air broadcaster, it should be noted that it’s still far short of the entire 48 matches that will be available live on both Foxtel and the streaming service Kayo Sports as shown in the complete TV fixtures displayed below. It’s not nearly as extensive as the free to air coverage during the Cricket World Cup. The Ten/TenPlay telecasts will also include peak time ad-breaks, and there’s no indication that full TV replays of the matches they air will be delivered to Australian homes either, but any increase is good news for Australian Rugby World Cup fans during this extremely popular event.
Rugby World Cup 2019 Live Free-to-Air TV Fixtures (Sydney time)
| Date | Event | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 26 October | SF1: England v New Zealand | 7:00pm | Ten / Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday 27 October | SF2: Wales v South Africa | 8:00pm | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Friday 1 November | 3RD: Wales v New Zealand | 8.00pm | Ten / Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday 2 November | FINAL: South Africa v England | 8:00pm | Ten / Foxtel / Kayo |
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Channel 10 Broadcasting Guide – Group Matches and Finals
Channel 10’s coverage will be headed by the Wallabies Group Stage games, but in the latter stage of the tournament it will really come to the fore, broadcasting six of the eight games following the Group Stage, including one match of the all-important semi-finals as well as the finals itself. As Network 10’s Head of Sport, Matt White, said, ‘the great thing is that matches will be played in a country with a similar time-zone. The tournament fits perfectly into our schedule.’
The ninth edition of the tournament, the 2019 Rugby World Cup kicks off on the evening of Friday, September the 20th. With every match set to start either in the afternoon, or at night no later than 9.45pm Sydney time, it will be easy to stay on top of all the action this year.
Rugby World Cup Live Aussie TV: Full Schedule (Sydney time)
Shown as Sydney time, adjust for regional differences. Due to licensing agreement the World Cup of Rugby free to air coverage on Network Ten is limited to matches involving the Australian national team, select Group games, two quarter-finals as well as one semi-final and the finals. Alternatively, Foxtel and Kayo Sports will have live broadcasts of all 48 matches on the RWC19 schedule, with no ad-breaks during play. Kayo Sports is also offering a 14 day Free trial that has no lock-in, which would allow fans to enjoy a good chunk of the matches before making a commitment.
| Date | Time | Event | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Sep 20 | 8:45 PM | Japan vs Russia | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Saturday, Sep 21 | 2:45 PM | Australia vs Fiji | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Saturday, Sep 21 | 5:15 PM | France vs Argentina | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday, Sep 21 | 7:45 PM | New Zealand vs South Africa | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Sep 22 | 3:15 PM | Italy vs Namibia | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Sep 22 | 5:45 PM | Ireland vs Scotland | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Sep 22 | 8:15 PM | England vs Tonga | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Monday, Sep 23 | 8:15 PM | Wales vs Georgia | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Tuesday, Sep 24 | 8:15 PM | Russia vs Samoa | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Wednesday, Sep 25 | 3:15 PM | Fiji vs Uruguay | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Thursday, Sep 26 | 5:45 PM | Italy vs Canada | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Thursday, Sep 26 | 8:45 PM | England vs USA | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday, Sep 28 | 2:45 PM | Argentina vs Tonga | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday, Sep 28 | 5:15 PM | Japan vs Ireland | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday, Sep 28 | 7:45 PM | South Africa vs Namibia | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Sep 29 | 3:15 PM | Georgia vs Uruguay | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Sep 29 | 5:45 PM | Australia vs Wales | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Monday, Sep 30 | 8:15 PM | Scotland vs Samoa | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Wednesday, Oct 2 | 5:45 PM | France vs USA | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Wednesday, Oct 2 | 8:15 PM | New Zealand vs Canada | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Thursday, Oct 3 | 3:15 PM | Georgia vs Fiji | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Thursday, Oct 3 | 8:15 PM | Ireland vs Russia | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Friday, Oct 4 | 7:45 PM | South Africa vs Italy | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday, Oct 5 | 3:15 PM | Australia vs Uruguay | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Saturday, Oct 5 | 6:00 PM | England vs Argentina | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Saturday, Oct 5 | 8:30 PM | Japan vs Samoa | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 6 | 3:45 PM | New Zealand vs Namibia | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 6 | 6:45 PM | France vs Tonga | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Tuesday, Oct 8 | 9:15 PM | South Africa vs Canada | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Wednesday, Oct 9 | 3:15 PM | Argentina vs USA | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Wednesday, Oct 9 | 6:15 PM | Scotland vs Russia | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Wednesday, Oct 9 | 8:45 PM | Wales vs Fiji | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Friday, Oct 11 | 9:15 PM | Australia vs Georgia | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Saturday, Oct 12 | 3:45 PM | New Zealand vs Italy | Cancelled due to Typhoon |
| Saturday, Oct 12 | 7:15 PM | England vs France | Cancelled due to Typhoon |
| Saturday, Oct 12 | 9:45 PM | Ireland vs Samoa | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 13 | 2:15 PM | Namibia vs Canada | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 13 | 4:45 PM | USA vs Tonga | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 13 | 7:15 PM | Wales vs Uruguay | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 13 | 9:45 PM | Japan vs Scotland | Foxtel / Kayo |
FeaturedQuarter-finals
| Date | Time | Event | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct 19 | 6:15 PM | England v Australia | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Saturday, Oct 19 | 9:15 PM | New Zealand v Ireland | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Sunday, Oct 20 | 6:15 PM | Wales v France | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Sunday, Oct 20 | 9:15 PM | Japan v South Africa | Foxtel / Kayo |
*Channel 10, 10 Play and 10 Bold have the rights to stream two of the four quarter-finals.
Semi-finals
| Date | Time | Event | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct 26 | 7:00 PM | England v New Zealand | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
| Sunday, Oct 27 | 8:00 PM | Wales v South Africa | Foxtel / Kayo |
Third-placed playoff
| Date | Time | Event | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov 1 | 8:00 PM | Wales v New Zealand | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
Final
| Date | Time | Event | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Nov 2 | 8:00 PM | South Africa v England | Foxtel / Kayo / Ten |
Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony Live on Australian TV
With the Opening Ceremony for the World Cup of Cricket being shown on Free to Air (GEM), there was good reason to hope that channel 10, 10 BOLD or 10 Play would televise the ceremonies that will kick off this tournament. Unfortunately, this is not the case as the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony will be shown exclusively live on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.
