New deal set to keep Six Nations on terrestrial TV

The Six Nations is set to stay on free-to-air television from next season after the organisers struck a deal with broadcasters on both sides of the Irish Sea this week.

The Irish Independent reports that RTE and Virgin Media will continue to share the rights in Ireland, while the BBC and ITV will do the same in the rest of the United Kingdom.

The deal, which is said to represent a significant uplift in the existing one of £90 million per year, will see ITV broadcast 10 games per Championship with the BBC showing the remaining five games, including Wales and Scotland home games as long as England are not involved.

The report claims that the new agreement, which will run for the rest of the decade, will maintain the status quo dating back to 2022 and end fears that the tournament could end up on pay television.

RugbyPass reported in January that TNT Sports were weighing up adding the Six Nations to their expanding portfolio of international rugby next season, having received positive feedback about their Autumn Nations Series coverage.

Scotland , United Kingdom - 12 March 2023; BBC Sport presenter Gabby Logan in conversation with Former Ireland international and BBC Sport pundit Tommy Bowe before the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Scotland and Ireland at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

The current deal, worth around £90 million, sees the BBC hold the rights to all Wales and Scotland home matches and ITV to all those in England, Ireland, France, and Italy.

There had been fears that the BBC would no longer be able to afford to keep the Six Nations, with their outgoing director of sport Barbara Slater admitting in November last year that the rights could be out of their reach.

“We need a well-funded BBC if we are going to be able to continue to afford sports rights. Sports rights in the UK have more than doubled in the past decade.

“The BBC’s income in real terms has gone down 30 per cent. It is incredibly difficult for the BBC to maintain, across a range of sports, the expectations of those governing bodies,” said Slater.

In 2024, the UK government declined to add the Six Nations to the so-called “crown jewels” list of sporting events, which have to be offered to free-to-air TV channels on “fair and reasonable terms.”

England‘s first game of the tournament against Ireland was watched by a peak of 5.2 million across all devices, while the BBC are also said to be encouraged by improved year-on-year viewing figures.

It was thought that the new deal, which was understood to be worth £100 million, could end up being a hybrid of subscription and free-to-air live coverage but instead it appears to be staying on exclusively on terrestrial TV in the UK and Ireland. The Women's Six Nations and U20 Six Nations will also be included in the package.