YouTube and the RaboDirect PRO12, the premier rugby competition for the clubs of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy, have announced a new partnership to bring highlights of games to rugby fans all over the world.
After the first week of the YouTube channel being live, there have already been over 150,000 views of the video clips posted on the channel.
Extensive in-game highlights of the RaboDirect PRO12 are now available on the youtube.com/rabodirectpro12 channel, as well as more comprehensive highlights when the matches finish.
The channel will also feature special archive footage of memorable moments from past competitions.
David Jordan, Tournament Director said:
“We are very pleased with this achievement, our aim has always been to bring the RaboDirect PRO12 to as many people as possible and this YouTube channel has given us the opportunity to do so. It supplements our reach across all audiences. Our competition is thriving - attendance figures are up by approximately 5%, TV audiences by 28% and website unique users by 20%. We feel that this partnership will bring our competition to a new level. It allows us to bring the RaboDirect PRO12 to a much bigger audience worldwide”.
Stephen Nuttall, Senior Director, Sports for YouTube Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:
"Building on our recent partnership with the RBS Six Nations, we're delighted that highlights of the RaboDirect PRO12 season will now be available to YouTube users. The RaboDirect PRO12 features many of Europe's top teams and players, and we strongly believe that YouTube will help bring it to a much broader, global audience."
There are two ways to follow the action on the RaboDirect PRO12 YouTube channel:
1. View all the latest action, highlights, in game clips and archives from all 12 teams in the league at youtube.com/rabodirectpro12
Or
2. Click on the RaboDirect PRO12 button on the right of the homepage (beneath the Ospreys TV screen) for the Ospreys playlist, showing you the very latest Ospreys highlights from the competition.
In addition, we will look to bring to your attention some of the major Ospreys related highlights throughout the remainder of the season and beyond, making sure you never miss a thing. In the meantime though, make sure you bookmark the RaboDirect PRO12 YouTube page to get the best coverage of the competition ever, as the 2012/13 play-off race hots up....