International Rugby League appoints IMG as global media rights partner for RLWC26

International Rugby League (IRL) today announced it has appointed leading sports marketing agency IMG as its exclusive global media rights partner for IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026.

IMG was selected by the IRL Board from multiple respondents to an Invitation To Tender (ITT) launched in August 2024 for a strategic commercial partner for its suite of world cups, including the IRL Men’s World Cups in 2026 and 2030, the IRL Women’s RLWCs in 2026 and 2028 and the IRL Wheelchair RLWCs in 2026 and 2029.

The partnership will see IMG work with IRL on market analysis, valuations, go-to-market strategy and implementation, as well as relationship management with IRL’s future broadcast partners. There is scope to grow the partnership with IMG once future IRL Rugby League World Cups have been confirmed.

IMG has a strong track record of building value in quadrennial and other international competitions for its premium global partners and will be focused on maximising the value of IRL’s international rights sales.

The company will also leverage its extensive knowledge of and experience within the sport, which includes a 12-year strategic partnership with Rugby League Commercial in the UK and international rights distribution for the NRL.

In addition, IMG has previously had a decade-long association with IRL during the 2008, 2013 and 2017 IRL Rugby League World Cups that resulted in an expanding global viewership of the sport’s pinnacle world event.

The decision to appoint IMG follows the strategic recalibration of the international federation in July 2023. The changes included IRL tripling its core revenue streams from just world cup rights fees to also include global broadcast sales and global sponsorship.

IRL Chair Troy Grant said: “This is an exciting step in IRL's history and our shift towards rebuilding the federation’s capability to allow us, in partnership IMG, one of the world’s premier sports marketing agencies, to better support our members and continue to grow the international game across the globe.

"We took some not necessarily popular but critical decisions about our operations, governance and strategy a couple of years ago, moving from an amateurishly run organisation trying to be all things to everyone, to a strategically run, lean operation focusing on what we needed to do to build the foundations of a burgeoning sport into an attractive investment opportunity. And the proof is in the pudding as is now on show in the enormous uplift in the international game over the last three years leading into what will be our most competitive and attractive world cups in 2026.“

IMG SVP, Business Development Sam Stitcher added: "We’re proud to support International Rugby League in its exciting new chapter and as it gears up for next year’s hugely anticipated Rugby League World Cups. The tournaments will unite the best players and fans from every corner of the world, and we look forward to helping IRL unlock its full commercial potential. With our global network, expertise, and deep understanding of the game, our focus will be on building long-term value and fandom, bringing the sport to more audiences than ever before."

About International Rugby League

International Rugby League is the international federation for rugby league. Its objective is to foster, develop, promote, govern and administer the Game of rugby league throughout the world, and to bring together its fifty-plus members to achieve that objective. It strives to create the environment, through a commercially successful international calendar of events, that fosters the global growth of the game, connecting people across all continents and cultures with our exciting sport.

About IMG

IMG is a leading global sports marketing agency, specializing in media rights management and sales, multi-channel content production and distribution, brand partnerships, strategic consulting, digital services, and events management. It powers growth of revenues, fanbases and IP for more than 250 federations, associations, events, and teams, including the National Football League, English Premier League, International Olympic Committee, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, ATP and WTA Tours, the AELTC (Wimbledon), Euroleague Basketball, CONMEBOL, DP World Tour, and The R&A, as well as UFC, WWE, and PBR. IMG is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company.