There are three options for streaming the Rugby World Cup matches. However, only one is streaming all 48 matches, and, as you can expect, you have to pay for access. The three platforms streaming the RWC are:
- Sky Sport/Sky Sport Now
- A dedicated multi-media hub on Stuff
- Sky Open
Sky Sport/Sky Sport Now
Sky customers have access to all 48 games live on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now.
If you’re already a subscriber to Sky, you can add Sky Sport to your plan for $37.99 a month. However, if you’re not already a Sky subscriber, you have two options:
1. Subscribe to Sky
A basic Sky subscription costs $25.99 per month on a 12-month contract, which includes installation of the box and a rooftop satellite dish. And the new Sky Box will cost you a one-off charge of $200, or an ongoing monthly fee of $10.
For the price, you get access to the Sky Starter package, including all free-to-air channels plus family-friendly channels like Discovery, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central and MTV. You also get access to Sky Go, which allows you to stream all Sky channels online via the Sky Go website and app.
To add Sky Sport to the package costs $37.99 a month, which brings the total to $63.98, and that’s without the cost of the box. Plus if you want to be able to pause, rewind and record live TV, well, that’s an extra $15 per month.
2. Subscribe to Sky Sport Now
For sports fans who only want to watch sports, and are not interested in Sky’s other channels, Sky Sport Now is the perfect choice.
Sky Sport Now can be purchased independently of a Sky subscription – saving you money! And it doesn’t tie you in to any long-term contracts, meaning you can cancel your subscription at any time. Sky Sport Now can be purchased for:
- Week: $19.99
- Month: $44.99
- Year: $449.99
Sky Sport Now can be accessed through the Sky Sport Now app, or web browsers, meaning it can be streamed on almost any portable device. It can even be cast to your TV or played through an app on selected smart TVs.
Sky Sport Now also has a handy 24-hour playback feature, allowing you to scroll back 24 hours on all channels to watch sporting events you’ve missed.
Stuff
Stuff has partnered up with Sky to create a multimedia cross-channel, which will feature six livestreamed games alongside updates both on and off-field. The livestreamed games include the opening match, one semi-final and the final.
The RWC can be live-streamed for free on Stuff here.
Sky Open
Sky Open (formerly known as Prime TV) is featuring six livestreamed games, including the opening match, one semi-final and the final.
In total, it’s offering one live All Blacks pool match, three delayed All Blacks pool matches, four quarter-finals (two live, two delayed), two semi-finals (one live, one delayed) plus the bronze final and the grand final live.
Sky Open can be watched for free on Sky Go, whether you’re a Sky customer or not. You’ll need to register for Sky Go, click on ‘Watch TV’ and choose Sky Open (under Entertainment & Lifestyle). Or, you can download the Sky Go App from the app store, log in, select Sky Open and watch on any device.
If you have Freeview (many TVs have this built-in) you can watch Sky Open on Freeview Channel 15. As its name suggests, Freeview doesn’t cost anything.
Match schedule
The full RWC schedule can be found online here or as a PDF.
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About the author of this page
This report was written by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.
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