Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Paul Abbandonato

The full details of huge £460m TV deal that will keep Six Nations on free-to-air television revealed

The full details of the TV deal that will enable fans to continue watching the Six Nations on free-to-air television have been reported.

BBC and ITV put together a joint bid worth around £460million which blew Sky Sports and other pay-per-view TV broadcasters out of the water, according to The Rugby Paper.

The jackpot means Wales will be playing for record prize money as Dan Biggar and his team launch the defence of their Six Nations title in Ireland February 5.

A Grand Slam this year is said to be worth £6.5m to the winners, around £1m more than Wales banked under Warren Gatland when the feat was last achieved by any team three years ago.

There were mounting fears one of Sky, BT Sport or Amazon Prime would take rugby's greatest annual tournament behind a paywall, with the new broadcast rights up for grabs after Wales won the title last March.

However, the outcry from fans is said to have led to ITV and BBC joining forces to put together a package reportedly worth £115m per year.

The new deal gives them the rights to screen the next four Six Nations tournaments.

The previous contract was thought to be worth around £90m per year.

While the new, improved figure still falls well short of the £150m per year Six Nations bosses are said to have been chasing, it was still enough to eclipse the pay-per-view broadcasters.

As part of the deal ITV, who are said to be the 'senior partner', will show the home matches of England, Ireland, France and Italy.

BBC get Wales and Scotland home fixtures and are also set to screen the Under-20s and women's Six Nations.

Given its huge popularity, there had been an outcry at the prospect of the Six Nations moving off terrestrial TV, with the Westminster Government helping to fight the cause.

BBC' director general Tim Davie personally intervened over the broadcast rights - citing the Welsh public's love of the tournament as one of the main driving forces behind securing a new deal.

Davie pointed out that "64 per cent of the whole Welsh population" watched Wales' thrilling win over England last season.

"There is a limit to our budget but it is utterly critical we protect things like that, because that’s where audiences get value from the BBC. So, that is of priority importance, that we can bring those big events," he said.

The bumper TV package will filter down to the teams, with record prize money on offer this year.

Wales kick off the tournament away to Ireland on February 5, before a home clash against Scotland the following week.

They meet England at Twickenham at the end of the month and wind up with two Principality Stadium games against France and Italy in mid-March.

Want the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to you? Look no further.

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.