This is a little annoying. I was looking at the US TV schedule for the Rugby World Cup, and it turns out that all of the games are on at least 72-hour delay. And I thought it was bad when the Olympics was broadcast on 16-hour delay. I’ve written to Fox Sports World to see if there’s a good reason for this, but I don’t expect I’ll get a decent answer. Given how badly Australia has played the last few months it could be a blessing for me that I don’t have to watch them losing the title up close and personal (or at least in real time) but it seems pretty ridiculous that it’s impossible to get the games live even on extended cable.

UPDATE: It turns out that the games involving England and/or the USA are on pay per view, as are the finals. Maybe I’ll watch if Australia is in the finals, but I think this is a little absurd. Since the US is playing, there should have been a concerted push to try and maximise the audience in America rather than cash in with pay-per-view to make a quick buck. There’s probably more short-term profits this way, but the potential profit from getting even a tiny foothold in the American sporting market is astronomical, and you’d think that would be the smarter long-term strategy for rugby chiefs.