Bangkok--27 Jun--MARKET WIRE The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) has appointed IMG Media to act as exclusive sales agents for the international TV rights to the Rugby League World Cup, 2008. The 18-match tournament will take place in multiple locations across Australia from 25 October 2008, finishing at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on 22 November. Ten nations will vie for the trophy, including Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga who have already qualified. IMG Media, the world's largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming, is distributing the international rights to all 18 matches. The deal includes all broadcast rights including terrestrial, satellite, cable, CCTV, mobile and VOD, with live coverage of each game available. Its sports production arm TWI is also producing daily and overall highlights of the matches, as well as producing and distributing a new media package. Michael Mellor, Head of IMG Media, Asia Pacific, said (suggested): "We are delighted to be working with the RLIF on what promises to be one of the most keenly-fought and eagerly-anticipated sporting events in 2008. We are confident that with IMG Media's unparalleled worldwide sales network and expertise, and our strength and depth particularly on the ground in the Asian-Pacific area, we will be able to raise the profile of both the sport and the tournament in new territories, and develop even bigger audiences." Colin Love, RLIF and Australian Rugby League Chairman, said: "Our desire is to distribute the coverage as widely as possible to further enhance the audience and reputation of the Game and we are delighted to be represented by the leading sports marketing, production and distribution organisation in the world, IMG Media, to achieve our ambitions." IMG Media is the content production and distribution arm of the world's leading sports, entertainment and media company IMG. Nine Network are screening coverage in Australia, where the event marks the Centenary of Rugby League in the country.Editor's NotesAbout IMG and IMG Media IMG is the world's premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs over 2,700 people in 30 countries. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased IMG in 2004. IMG Sports & Entertainment includes: consulting services; event ownership and management; fashion events and models representation; licensing; golf course design; client representation in golf, tennis, broadcasting, speakers, European football, rugby, cricket, motorsports, coaching, Olympic sports and action sports. In addition, IMG Academies is the world's largest and most advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport training and educational facility, delivering world-class sports training experiences to over 12,000 junior, collegiate, adult and professional athletes each year. IMG Media, which includes our content production subsidiaries TWI, Darlow Smithson Productions (DSP), Tiger Aspect Productions (TAP), CSI Sports and leading mobile media solutions provider Nunet AG, is recognized as a global leader in the delivery of traditional and new media content and services, with Internet, broadband and mobile expertise, transforming how audiences access and interact with content. IMG Media produces and distributes over 11,000 hours of sports, documentary, drama, comedy, entertainment, popular factual and children's content annually, over multiple platforms across 220 countries, including award-winning television and radio programming. It also represents the broadcast rights to many of the world's premier sporting events and has the world's biggest sports archive with more than 250,000 hours of footage. More information about IMG is available at www.imgworld.com , www.darlowsmithson.com and www.tigeraspect.co.uk , www.csi-sports.net , and www.nunet.de Media enquiries Madeleine Pallas Director, Corporate Communications IMG & IMG Media Tel: +44 (0)20 8233 7425 Mob: +44 (0)7973 326 422 [email protected]