Six Nations could leave terrestrial TV as soon as NEXT YEAR as new broadcaster confirms interest in rugby tournament
TNT SPORTS could broadcast the Six Nations after the current terrestrial TV deal expires.
BBC and ITV will jointly showcase the international rugby tournament – which starts on Saturday with Scotland versus Italy at Murrayfield – but that agreement ends in 2025.
The Six Nations is not in the government’s Group A list of UK sporting events.
But it is in Group B, which means it can have live coverage on subscription television provided that secondary coverage is offered to the free-to-air broadcasters.
TNT Sports is already the place to watch Premiership Rugby and last year it had the Autumn Nations Series involving the world’s best Test teams.
Scott Young, the SVP Content, Productions and Business Operations for TNT’s parent company WBD Sports Europe, said: “We’re definitely having a look at the Six Nations.
“How that plays out, we don’t know. How it fits into the ecosystem of what we’re doing, we don’t know.
“But international rugby definitely worked on our platform.
“Not just for the month of November, it also helped elevate Prem Rugby, which is also very important for us.
“Rugby is really key for us. The Autumn Nations Series was a huge success.
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“We saw massive audiences come to our platform to really enjoy rugby, both as traditional rugby fans and new rugby fans.
“We actually started at Newcastle with Arsenal. And we know that 20 per cent of those football fans hung around to watch England v New Zealand.
“We look at all sports rights when they become available.”