The RBS Six Nations will remain on free to air television until at least 2022 after a new six year deal was signed yesterday between the tournament organisers representing the competing Unions and the BBC and ITV in a new shared agreement.
The BBC will transmit live coverage of all home matches of Scotland, Wales and France while ITV will transmit live coverage of all home matches of England, Ireland and Italy.
Over the course of the deal that will mean an equal number of games for each broadcaster from each competing country though it does mean that the BBC will effectively be shut out from Twickenham for the duration of the deal.
ITV have the exclusive British TV rights to this year’s Rugby World Cup will will conclude at the iconic stadium.
The British deal now paves the way for RBS 6 Nations to move onto negotiating separate deals in France, Italy and Ireland.
With Sky having been outbid and BT Sport not engaging with the process it opens the door to free to air coverage here in Ireland as well with RTÉ favourites to secure exclusive coverage as has been the case over the history of the highlight of the Rugby calendar.
The shared deal in Britain did nudge the overall value of the deal up from £40 Million to £50 Million there and a similar rise might well be sought here too.
RTÉ may feel that the importance of the competition and the value of the commercial benefit it can realise from exclusive coverage would make an increase in the fee justifiable but there is little doubt that TV3, now under new ownership would be tempted to build on the foundation of its securing the Rugby World Cup rights here this autumn.
It promises to be an interesting period of negotiation, though fans and politicians will doubtless be pleased that the prospect of a pay per view ‘takeover’ will not happen for now at least.
Then again, the changing nature of television, the status of national broadcasters and the fracturing audiences that are now becoming normal might lead to a new landscape by 2022 and perhaps RTÉ themselves will then have moved from a License fee base to one where payment for specific programmes might become the norm. After all we pay for the cinema, to go to the match live or to watch the Champions’ Cup in the comfort of our own home.
Whether the IRFU fully share the view that free to air is a winner is more difficult to divine. The fact that they have had the decision taken out of their hands by Sky making a less than expected bid certainly makes for better PR and the wider coverage will certainly aid the continued growth of rugby support and participation.
There will though be less TV rights income than might have been imagined and with Rugby elsewhere going down a more private ownership model with the millions that can bring, additional pressure will certainly come to bear on player contracts and coaching programmes.
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