TNT confirms Six Nations rights interest but commits to free-to-air deal
TNT Sports have confirmed they are interested in taking the Six Nations behind a paywall but insist that some free-to-air coverage will remain.
The BBC has broadcast Six Nations matches since its expansion in 2000 and in 2015 teamed up with ITV to keep the tournament on terrestrial television.
But TNT Sports, owned by Warner Bros Discovery, is in pole position to take all games behind their paywall – though it insists an element of free-to-air coverage will remain.
Definitely having a look
“It is a listed event so [getting all 15 matches] is not something we’d even consider, nor do we think that is necessary,” WBD’s Scott Young said.
“We are definitely having a look at the Six Nations. How that plays out we do not know and how it fits into the ecosystem of what we’re doing, we don’t know.
“We’re trying to provide the most immersive experience in sport, and that’s where we work really closely with all broadcast partners, whether that be Channel 4, ITV or BBC.
“I think the Six Nations will always have a broadcast partner because it is a listed event. We work very closely with Ofcom.”
The Six Nations is a Group B listed event, meaning that by law it must be shown at least in part on terrestrial television in the UK, even if only as highlights.
Six Nations behind a paywall?
Whether the free-to-air element is Welsh language coverage in Wales or one match per week on linear BBC or ITV is not yet known, but plunging the Six Nations – which hosts the biggest rugby audiences for the sport in the UK – behind a paywall is bound to have some impact on viewing figures.
“International [rugby] works on our platform, not just for the month of November but it helps elevate Premiership Rugby, which is very important for us,” added Young.
“Autumn was the first time we had international and domestic rugby on the same channel. That is part of assessing the value of a right and not just assessing the financial asset of that right.”
It comes as TNT Sports today announced that it will be scrapping the Eurosport brand in the UK.
It means that all rights held by Eurosport – such as the Tour de France and Olympic Games – will migrate to four TNT channels from the end of February.
Furthermore, events such as the men’s and women’s Wimbledon finals – shown on the BBC in the UK but on Eurosport on the continent – will also be shown on TNT Sports.
A TNT spokesperson later said free-to-air committments would make a bid “challenging”.