RugbyPass launch new subscription service - 'The XV'
RugbyPass has announced that the company – bought by Sky New Zealand in August 2019 – have launched a new subscription service in a move to strengthen their place at the vanguard of digital rugby content. “Sky Sports NZ acquired RugbyPass because of the integral role it will play as the global game develops. As part of that ambitious strategy comes the unveiling of our new subscription product, TheXV.Rugby”
Formed in 2016, Martin believes RugbyPass is well-placed at a pivotal moment for rugby. “Almost 25 years to the day from the advent of professionalism, rugby is in a massive state of transition so the timing to launch The XV is ideal. As its core will be high-quality, premium journalism.”
Martin believes that one of RugbyPass and The XV’s key objectives is to get fans to understand the game better and give hardcore fans a much deeper level of engagement, but also to reflect the amateur values of the game which is relevant to huge swathes of their audience. “The talented team we’ve put together all recognise that. They understand audiences want to be informed and educated but also want to be entertained.”
The XV will have a heady mix of hard-hitting journalism, big-name player interviews and long-read features and this offering will be enhanced by bespoke podcasts and video in a product which has been built from the bottom up for the readers.
With over 20 writers from around the globe contributing, alongside an experienced editorial team, Martin believes The XV will appeal to a new segment of the market. “Our intellectual property comes from journalists who know their patch intimately. We have writers on the ground, from all over the world, following the biggest stories and getting access to the greatest players. The insight we have will shine through in our journalism.”
Since joining the business, Martin says RugbyPass has often felt like rugby’s best kept secret. “If you talk to clubs, or players, they all love RugbyPass. They get what RugbyPass is about. We’re at the heart of the game and embedded in digital culture, so The XV is a natural extension of that and lends itself to annual subscriptions.”
Martin argues that what underpins RugbyPass as a business is that people who work there genuinely love the game. “What we are doing within the game should be construed as a positive. We will not be throwing rocks without reason. Fundamentally, we want rugby to thrive and prosper. We want to retain that enthusiasm and love for the game.”
One of the reasons The XV exists, Martin believes, is because the needs of customers continue to evolve. “Having an ad-free environment will become increasingly prevalent to audiences who want to follow their passions without clutter. The clean, intuitive user-experiences you get through OTT products like Netflix, Disney+ and Now TV are going to be a prerequisite in other areas of their digital consumption and that’s what we are building. We see micro-subscription products hitting the market with increasing frequency.”
In terms of value-for-money, there will be 30 to 40 pieces of content every month. That will be over 40,000wds of written content every month, as well as audio and video. All this, Martin says, for less than the cost of a pint, which means it’s very competitively priced.
After months with no rugby played, Martin has been buoyed by Rugby Pass’ growth when rugby has been at a standstill. “Even in lockdown RugbyPass has continued to produce fresh, innovative content. We pulled together the FifaPros competition with some of the brightest names in the game in just three days. Stars like Anthony Watson, Jordi Murphy, Mako Vunipola, Tom Curry, Ellis Genge, Henry Slade, Jack Nowell, Adam Hastings and Aaron Smith all clubbed together to raise thousands for charity.”
With a portfolio of brands Martin understands the different roles his products play. “We’re not doing it to create clickbait. We’ve found a different way to present rugby. The game is about stories, fun and being part of a team environment. What we do really well is pull all of those strings together. We don’t concentrate on one single product, which gives us a huge competitive advantage because we have genuine scale in the rugby vertical.”
When Martin joined RugbyPass and saw what they were doing from an audience and media perspective, he felt emboldened by its potential. “I felt like I was a gold prospector who had found an unpolished hunk of gold. I thought, ‘this is something amazing, how big can we make this?’ The XV is an iteration of those embryonic years and I see it sitting at the heart of what we do.”
With an OTT subscription business that operates in Asia and central Europe Martin firmly believes you need to have a mixed media model to survive in a volatile media landscape and The XV will cater for rugby fans who want to gorge on high-quality rugby content every day. TheXV also means a subscription product existing in tier one rugby markets where the majority of RugbyPass’ audience resides. “We have verticals in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and a growing following in the US and the Far-East.”
With swathes of traditional publishers’ business models stressed from the pandemic and widespread lay-offs, Martin recognises the need to be as lean and agile as possible to spin up new products and capitalise on trend lines in the market. “Being able to make real revenue from a subscription product was always important to us and building the right products with the right type of monetisation models is down to timing. Now is the right time to do that. The XV is an example of that. It doesn’t feel rushed, it’s more a natural cadence of the business. We haven’t compromised in any way and have more products in the pipeline that we’ll announce in due course.”
As for markers that rugby, as a commodity, is undervalued, Martin points to the fact that CVC Capital Partners are investing over half-a-billion pounds in rugby. “If you look at the reach that the Rugby World Cup generates, and the passion generated by the British & Irish Lions tour – which I still think is still one of the most amazing events in sport – they shine a light on what is utterly unique about our sport. Rugby is successful through many lenses almost in spite of itself. This is what attracts CVC. They have looked at sports like the NBA and NFL and seen how they’ve created more rounded products. They focus not just on live-sport but also stats and data and, importantly, access to the players. RugbyPass are one of the few media outlets that service that market, which will, in turn, help leagues and unions grow the game beyond their usual frontiers.”
As for the future, Martin says RugbyPass are well-placed for digital growth. “You know you’re doing the right thing when your kids are telling you you’re doing some great content on TikTok, where we have nearly 200,000 followers. I believe we’re leaders in driving rugby audiences on digital and social platforms. RugbyPass is unafraid to have a personality. Unafraid to have a sense-of-humour and unashamedly loves the game. In every essence, we’re a modern-day rugby media brand.”
Visit TheXV.Rugby to learn more
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments