CSM and USA Rugby Join Forces

Sport and entertainment specialists, CSM Sport & Entertainment has agreed a new partnership with USA Rugby to help accelerate the growth of rugby in the US.   Under the partnership, CSM has become a minority shareholder and the exclusive commercial sales agent for USA Rugby’s commercial entity, Rugby International Marketing (RIM).

CSM will bring its international rugby experience and expertise to the USA Rugby business at a time when the sport of rugby is thriving and poised to expand to a new level of growth in the country.  USA Rugby’s new business model, which includes RIM as a separate ‘for profit’ commercial subsidiary, aims to accelerate the commercialisation and development of rugby in the US by investing revenues back into the sport.As the exclusive commercial sales agent, CSM will leverage its global sports and rugby experience to support Rugby International Marketing’s New York-based sales team by growing USA Rugby’s roster of sponsors and marketing partners. 

Chad Keck, Chairman of Rugby International Marketing, said: “We are excited to welcome CSM as a partner and investor in RIM.  Their relationships and expertise in the world of rugby will be invaluable as we look to grow our sponsorship portfolio and raise the visibility of the sport in the United Rugby in the US is a fast-growing and exciting proposition for brands to take advantage of, with the strength of the Men’s and Women’s National Teams, the formation of a professional league, English Premiership Rugby teams playing matches in the US and rapidly growing grassroots participation.  The USA Rugby Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams are particularly successful, having both qualified for the recent Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and will be hoping to inspire the stars of the future at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sophie Goldschmidt, Group Managing Director of CSM, commented: “Rugby in North America has never been stronger.  The success of USA Rugby in recent years is evidence of the sport’s evolution in this important market.  By investing in and becoming the exclusive commercial agent of RIM, we believe we can help further accelerate the growth of rugby in the US.  Both commercially and strategically, this investment makes sense for both CSM and RIM as together we are looking to maximize the commercial success of USA Rugby.”

To heighten interest in the sport, RIM has developed The Rugby Channel, an ‘over the top’ digital video platform which features live and on-demand rugby content from the US and around the world.  This new platform is accessible at www.therugbychannel.tv and via native mobile and connected device apps.

This investment and partnership strengthens CSM’s presence in the US and in the country’s fastest growing team sport.  The growth, with more than one million people participating in rugby in the US., mirrors the increasing success of the national teams.  In 2015, the USA Rugby Men’s Sevens team claimed its first HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament win at the Marriott London Sevens and just a few weeks ago the Women’s Sevens team finished 5th at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.