Six Nations could be off free-to-air TV as Sky Sports is favourite to snatch rights from the BBC in £300million deal
The Six Nations could be removed from free-to-air television with Sky Sports emerging as favourites to snatch broadcasting rights for the rugby tournament.
Sky are in line to secure a £300million agreement to screen the competition from 2021, leaving terrestrial channels BBC and ITV on the margins with potentially huge implications for the sport.
BBC and ITV teamed up to outbid Sky when the rights were last up for grabs in 2016, negotiating a deal worth £90m-a-year to screen the Six Nations until 2021.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones holds the trophy at the launch of this year’s Six Nations competition
The Six Nations trophy is seen prior to the France vs England fixture in Paris this year
But, according to the Rugby Paper, with the tenders for broadcasting rights closing in the coming days, Sky are poised to blow them out of the water.
That’s because joint bids are banned this time around, increasing the likelihood the annual tournament could disappear to subscription TV.
The Rugby Paper quotes an industry source as saying: ‘By ruling out any joint bids it’s almost as if the Six Nations are clearing the way for Sky.
‘There is a very real danger that they will be prepared to sacrifice the big audiences on BBC and ITV for more money.
‘Cricket did that and the popularity of the sport was hit as a consequence.
‘If rugby chooses not to learn from that mistake, then they will be at risk of the same consequence from the same lack of exposure.’
The latest live rights package groups all the leading international nations together rather than allowing individual unions to strike their own deals.
The Autumn internationals, some of which are already screened by Sky, are also thought to be included in the deal.
But the Six Nations, which annually attracted millions of viewers on the BBC and ITV, will be the biggest loss to free-to-air networks.
For example, when Wales clinched the Grand Slam by beating Ireland last year, as many as 87 per cent of those watching television at the time in Wales were tuned in.
Wales’ victory over England in Cardiff last year attracted a peak audience of 8.9m on the BBC, more than an FA Cup tie between Manchester United and Chelsea in the same week.
The Six Nations isn’t part of the protected ‘crown jewels’ list of sporting events that can only be shown on free-to-air channels.
England play Ireland in last month’s Six Nations match at Twickenham in London
It is a Group B listed event, which means it can be screened on pay TV provided terrestrial channels are handed secondary rights.
This is the case with England cricket Test matches, which are shown live by Sky Sports but with highlights on Channel Five.
So rugby fans without Sky would likely have to make do with just highlights rather than live action if the deal goes through.