Six Nations stays free to air for four more years as BBC and ITV strike deal

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THE Six Nations Championship will remain free to air in the United Kingdom up to and including the 2029 tournament after organisers reached agreement with the BBC and ITV on broadcasting rights. The BBC has also struck a deal to continue to show every match in both the Women’s Six Nations and the Under-20 Six Nations. No details of the financial agreement have been released.

There had been considerable speculation in recent weeks that the competition was set to end its involvement with terrestrial television, but it always appeared likely that both the governing body and most if not all of its stakeholders would prefer not to do so. Six Nations duly confirmed the new arrangement this morning, saying:

“ITV will show ten fixtures per year over the next four years, including every single England fixture in each edition of the Championship. The BBC will deliver coverage of five Guinness Men's Six Nations fixtures per year, including every Scotland and Wales home match, except when each nation is hosting England, when the fixture will be broadcast on ITV.

“As a longstanding supporter of women's rugby, the BBC has also secured the media rights to every fixture of the Guinness Women's Six Nations in the UK until 2029, with coverage spanning TV and iPlayer. Similarly, the U20 Six Nations will be available on BBC platforms for the next four years. The BBC will also hold the audio rights for the Men's, Women's and U20s Championships, meaning fans will be able to enjoy extensive international rugby coverage across radio, BBC Sounds and online platforms.”

Scottish Rugby chief executive Alex Williamson added: "Scottish Rugby welcomes ITV Sport and BBC Sport continuing their support of rugby to broadcast the Guinness Six Nations through to 2030. The investment and commitment of both companies will enable everyone in Scotland to enjoy our largest tournament, which in turn helps to grow and showcase our sport. Rugby can't be complacent and must use the next four years wisely to mature our engagement with younger audiences and build better digital models to remain relevant and accessible to all fans in the future."

National coach Gregor Townsend and co-captain Finn Russell were both also quoted in a press release from Murrayfield following the announcement. "We are being supported more than ever by the Scottish public,” Townsend said. “We feel that backing at the stadiums, but we are also aware of the millions of people who support us by watching on TV.

"Having all matches shown by ITV Sport and BBC Sport for the foreseeable future is a massive boost for the game and the competition. The Guinness Six Nations is the biggest annual tournament in rugby and having all of our matches available to be viewed by the largest possible audience will only help the competition continue to grow over the coming years."

Russell said: "When the Guinness Six Nations comes around every year you can always feel a unique sense of excitement across Scotland. We really appreciate the backing of our fans and to have all of our games in the tournament available on TV to everyone across the country is a massive boost for the sport.  It will only allow more people to get behind us which in turn will act as extra motivation for the players."

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