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#Post#: 145494--------------------------------------------------
O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: December 2, 2025, 8:23 am
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Just reported in the Telegraph. If this is true, that's a big
shift to get all the main test matches for 2026 on Terrestrial
TV!
--- Quote ---
> ITV poised to show every England rugby Test after shock £80m
Nations Championship bid
> Free-to-air broadcaster is close to securing rights for the
inaugural international competition after gazumping TNT Sports
>
> Gavin Mairs
> Chief Rugby Union Correspondent
> 02 December 2025 1:59pm GMT
>
> ITV is on the verge of securing broadcasting rights for the
inaugural Nations Championship after tabling a bid of more £80m
to ensure that every rugby union Test match next year will be
broadcast on free-to-air television.
>
> Telegraph Sport can reveal that the terrestrial station is
understood to have outbid TNT Sports, who were also interested
in securing the rights having just broadcast this year’s autumn
internationals, in what has been described as an unprecedented
investment for a new tournament.
>
> The surprise bid surpasses the £63m that ITV and the BBC paid
for the Six Nations Championship in a new three-year deal
earlier this year and represents a landmark shift away from
major sports such as football, cricket and F1 going to pay TV
and is regarded as a major boost to the new tournament.
>
> “This is major money and guarantees exposure for a major
tournament,” said one source.
>
> The Nations Championship is the new tournament involving the
Six Nations sides and their southern hemisphere rivals from the
Rugby Championship – South Africa, New Zealand, Australia,
Argentina, with Fiji and Japan also representing the south
hemisphere – with games played in July and November.
>
> It is understood that separate deals with terrestrial French
and Irish broadcasters are also expected to ensure the Nations
Championship matches are shown across Europe on free to air.
>
> The ITV deal is expected to cover the first two tournaments –
the second is scheduled for 2028, and with the World Cup in
Australia in 2027 also being shown on ITV, the sport can expect
to benefit from unprecedented exposure through to at least 2029
when the current Six Nations deal concludes.
>
> Insiders say that ITV have been clearing their decks to invest
in live sport, indicated by the swiftness and seriousness of
their bid.
>
> ITV’s coverage of England v France last February was watched
by a peak of six million viewers across all devices, giving the
station its biggest peak audience of the year at that point and
their most-watched weekend since football’s European
Championship in 2024. Across Europe the match peaked at 13m
viewers.
>
> England will open their Nations Championship campaign with the
eagerly awaited match against world champions South Africa in
Johannesburg in July, followed by a game against Fiji in Port
Elizabeth. Steve Borthwick’s side will then fly to Argentina to
face Los Pumas.
>
> England will then face Australia, Japan and New Zealand at
Twickenham in November before the Nations Championship will be
decided during a finals weekend (also at Twickenham), which will
see the top-ranked sides from each hemisphere meet in a final,
with the rest playing off against each other based on their
respective rankings.
>
>
> Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the Six Nations,
described the new tournament as its launch last month and
signalled a “tectonic shift in the sport.”
>
> “Rugby’s strongest nations have collaborated with a clear
vision to grow the game, by challenging traditional ways of
operating to create a tournament structure with genuine global
relevance, which will unlock the true value of the sport,” he
said.
>
> “The world’s biggest and best Championships are defined by
intense sporting drama, and the Nations Championship will stand
alongside these. The Finals Weekend will add a totally new
dimension for fans, and promises to create an incredible
spectacle, crown Champions, and act as a catalyst to grow
rugby’s reach, globally.
>
> “By bringing together the best teams and players in the sport
and injecting another layer to the fierce cross hemisphere
rivalries, the Nations Championship will take international
rugby to new heights.”
>
> TNT had been expected to be favourites to secure the rights,
after an impressive production of the autumn games, but they are
now expected to focus on securing the rights to the European
Champions Cup to complete their coverage of the England
Premiership.
>
> Telegraph Sport contracted both the Six Nations and ITV, but
both declined to comment.
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 145495--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: Brown Bottle
Date: December 2, 2025, 9:01 am
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Well, I wasn't expecting that!
#Post#: 145497--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: Fearless Fred
Date: December 2, 2025, 9:09 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Brown Bottle link ---
>
> Well, I wasn't expecting that!
>
--- End Quote ---
HTML https://media0.giphy.com/media/CLrEXbY34xfPi/200.gif
We might not get all the games live, depending on when & where
they're played, but it *does* look like ITV are making a play
for the International game. I hope they succeed in getting the
Lions tours off Sky as well...
#Post#: 145498--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: December 2, 2025, 9:10 am
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It will be a good step to spreading rugby to a new audience.
As an example, I got heavily into cricket as a teenager because
it was on channel 4, coupled with the Ashes hype. If I was the
same age now, with it being behind a paywall (and lets face it,
its not glamorous like boxing or UFC) wouldn't have given it
much thought.
#Post#: 145499--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: poorfour
Date: December 2, 2025, 9:20 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Great effort - I guess rugby represents a bit of a sweet spot of
recognition and audience versus how much it costs for the
rights.
Interesting that England v France drew 6m viewers compared to
5.8m for the RWC 2025 Final. Different events but it suggests
that rugby is drawing a decent terrestrial audience.
#Post#: 145500--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: Banstead Quin
Date: December 2, 2025, 9:37 am
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Having it on Terrestrial is great but let's not kid ourselves,
it'll still be the TNT pundits so still Austin Healey talking
about the canal passing points in Bow!
#Post#: 145501--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: A222Quin
Date: December 2, 2025, 10:40 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Banstead Quin link ---
>
> Having it on Terrestrial is great but let's not kid ourselves,
it'll still be the TNT pundits so still Austin Healey talking
about the canal passing points in Bow!
>
--- End Quote ---
"I think the ref's got that wrong there. It should be penalty
to...." Replay shows ref has made the correct decision. "Well,
it was certainly a marginal one."
#Post#: 145503--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: December 2, 2025, 11:54 am
---------------------------------------------------------
The can sell the advertising time for top dollar, will have a
large audience, and a very good demographic, so is a much better
use of their money than coronation street.
The demographic is what will bring in the money, and companies
will pay heavily for a large number of viewers in the groups
that they are targeting, they have been cutting a lot of high
cost low return programing.
The production company will be Buzz 16 the same as TNT as they
are really the only game in town.
#Post#: 145507--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: DOK
Date: December 2, 2025, 12:54 pm
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I'm sure some of us can remember when American Football was on
channel 4 and how that took off because people who saw it on the
box then wanted to play it.
I've felt for a while now that rugby's chasing of the TV money
may have actually hampered the game as a whole.
Chatgpt tells me A typical Six Nations match tends to draw
around 4–6 million viewers on average (in the UK/major
rugby-watching countries), with marquee games sometimes reaching
7–9 million or more.
I can't get figures for the AIs.
#Post#: 145511--------------------------------------------------
Re: O/T Nations Championship games on Terrestrial...
DIR By: FrostAndFire
Date: December 2, 2025, 2:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: DOK link ---
>
>
> Chatgpt tells me A typical Six Nations match tends to draw
around 4–6 million viewers on average (in the UK/major
rugby-watching countries), with marquee games sometimes reaching
7–9 million or more.
>
--- End Quote ---
Yeah, but is that actually true, or did the AI just pull a
figure out of its artificial arse as it does 50% of the time.
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