SYDNEY — The 2017 Rugby League World Cup has kicked off across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea with passionate crowds, large broadcast, digital and social numbers all coming through within the opening round of matches. The showpiece tournament featuring 14 nations has also seen the addition of many fan engagement delights both online and at the venues from fan MVP voting and free digital streaming to traditional dancing and culinary food and beverage offerings inside the venues which has added a diverse mix of color and noise to the fan experience.
The National Rugby League’s Australian Kangaroos team has also joined the steadily growing list of Australian sporting teams to hop into the artificial intelligence chatbot game with the launch of its very own Facebook Messenger chatbot, developed by Ready Eddy, which has been designed to bring fans of the game closer to their team and allow them to find the most relevant information quickly such as with information on squad lists, tickets, merchandising and breaking news.