Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Daniel Moxon

BBC unveil new-look Six Nations line-up as 20-year stalwart of coverage steps down

Jeremy Guscott is stepping down as the lead presenter of the BBC's coverage of the Six Nations, with Gabby Logan set to take over.

The Six Nations returns this weekend and the BBC will once again be providing coverage of the tournament.

However, this year's offering will be more slimmed-down than usual, with the broadcaster only showing one match per weekend.

The other games will be broadcast by ITV, which will be sharing the broadcast rights so all matches will be free to view for fans watching from home.

The BBC's personnel will also look different, with 20-year stalwart Guscott stepping away from his role, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

Gabby Logan will lead BBC Sport's Six Nation's coverage (Getty Images)

The retired England centre is said to be pursuing other business interests, while anchor John Inverdale has also left the BBC's production of the Six Nations.

Gabby Logan will be replacing Guscott as the lead presenter, beginning with England's tournament opener against Scotland in the Calcutta Cup on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ugo Monye will be presenting a new hour-long Rugby Special programme at 6pm on a Sunday, showing highlights and analysis from all the weekend's Six Nations action.

Also joining the BBC's coverage as pundits will be former British and Irish Lions captains Sam Warburton and Martin Johnson, who are included in the line-up alongside the likes of Dylan Hartley, Jonathan Davies and Andy Nicol.

The news comes after Six Nations organisers opted to keep showing matches on the BBC and ITV despite considering selling the broadcast rights to a subscription channel.

Such a deal would likely have been more lucrative, but would have resulted in much smaller audience shares with fewer people able to watch the action.

Jeremy Guscott is stepping away from the BBC's Six Nations coverage (AFP/Getty Images)

Showing rugby action live on free-to-air TV also has financial benefits for clubs and organisations as well, as proven with a recent Gallagher Premiership match.

Last weekend's match between Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers was shown live on ITV, and is believed to have enjoyed a peak audience of more than 700,000 homes.

It led to a surge in ticket sales for Sale, while the club also recorded a 10x rise in the number of people searching for the club online on Monday compared to the previous seven-day period.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.