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Six Nations will no longer be shown exclusively on free-to-air TV

By Chris Jones
The 2019 Six Nations was potentially one of the last entire editions of the tournament to be exclusively shown on UK terrestrial TV (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The entire Six Nations championship will no longer be shown exclusively on free-to-air under a proposed £500m deal that will see CVC Capital Partners take a 15 per cent stake in the tournament which is currently shown in the UK by BBC and ITV under a five-year deal that ends in 2021.

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RugbyPass understands that a mixture of free-to-air and paid-for television exposure will be put in place in the UK, Ireland and France to enable CVC to maximise their involvement in Europe’s elite international competition. 

Crucially, the November internationals staged by the Six Nations countries would also be part of the deal with those games coming into the equation when the free-to-air element is negotiated.

Six Nations sources insist there is agreement across the board to bring this into play with the major Unions set to bank £100million each from the CVC deal, although Italy would receive a lower figure as they were last to join the competition. 

“The current agreement will be the last to involve the whole Six Nations tournament being shown on terrestrial television,” confirmed a leading Six Nations source to RugbyPass. “The exact details have yet to be negotiated but the whole deal could be sorted out quite quickly.”

(Continue reading below…)

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That kind of cash windfall, allied to a commitment to keep some matches free-to-air, has convinced the Six Nations administration to make this momentous decision and each of the Unions is currently considering the proposal from CVC, who already own a 27 per cent share of the English Premiership that netted the top 12 clubs around £20m each.

CVC’s grip on the sport is tightening with an offer of £120m for a stake in the PRO14 competition and they believe global rights sales from all three elements – Six Nations, Premiership and PRO14 – will generate the kind of funds to justify their support of rugby union.

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Alun Wyn Jones
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones lifts the 2019 title (Photo by Getty Images)

The Six Nations board is expected to be in a position to forge ahead with the CVC proposal shortly. They believe keeping some of the matches for terrestrial television will help deflect some of the anger that the move is expected to generate. 

The threat of the Six Nations being lost to Sky or BT in the lead-up to the current terrestrial deal signed in 2016 resulted in petitions being started demanding that what is seen as one of the jewels of the sporting crown in Europe was not hidden behind a pay-wall.

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Trevor 26 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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