The Future of the Six Nations on TV: What’s at Stake?

The Six Nations Championship is widely regarded as European rugby union’s premier competition, essentially serving as the European Championship for the sport. While the tournament is closed to challenger nations like Georgia, Portugal, and Romania, the focus here is on the future of the competition’s television coverage in the United Kingdom. And recent speculation suggests that the Six Nations might soon follow in the footsteps of other major sporting events like Formula 1, the Olympic Games, and the Tour de France—by going behind a paywall.

Men's Six Nations Logo

Traditionally, the Six Nations has been considered one of the "crown jewel" events in the sports calendar, alongside the FIFA World Cup, the European Football Championships, and iconic events like the FA and Scottish Cup finals, as well as the Grand National and the Epsom Derby in horse racing. These events are often safeguarded, with some protections ensuring they remain accessible to the general public via free-to-air broadcasts. For example, major events like the Olympic Games and the Rugby World Cup final (though not the entire tournament) enjoy such protections, as does the Rugby League Challenge Cup final, Wimbledon’s Men’s and Women’s Finals, and the British Grand Prix—the only Formula 1 race that’s protected.

However, the Six Nations Championship currently falls under "Category B" in terms of broadcasting rights, which means the tournament is available to be broadcast by pay-tv networks—provided that extensive highlights are still offered free-to-air, typically by the BBC or ITV.

The big question now is: Will the Six Nations Championship end up behind a paywall starting next year?

Over the past two months, this question has been dominating the press, especially as the current tournament unfolds. TNT Sports, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and BT, is seen as the frontrunner to acquire the rights. However, the network has recently distanced itself from the bidding process, possibly due to concerns over potential backlash from rugby fans who have grown accustomed to watching the Six Nations for free.

TNT Sports itself acknowledged that it would be “very challenging” to take on the Six Nations, given the tournament’s longstanding tradition of free-to-air coverage. That said, if the powers-that-be choose to prioritize revenue over widespread viewership, they could opt to follow the example set by Formula 1, selling the broadcasting rights in their entirety to a pay-tv company while only retaining a portion of the content for free access—such as highlights.

But if TNT Sports pulls out, who could step in to take over the broadcasting rights? This remains speculative, but one possible contender is Netflix. The streaming giant has already ventured into live sports coverage, securing global rights for WWE and expressing interest in acquiring Formula 1 rights due to the success of its documentary series Drive to Survive. Netflix also has a documentary series focused on the Six Nations, so it wouldn't be surprising if they made a bid for the tournament’s broadcasting rights.

The real issue, however, lies in securing highlights. As TNT Sports pointed out, broadcasting rights for highlights could prove tricky, especially for countries like Wales and Ireland. The challenge arises from the need to negotiate separate deals with broadcasters in these countries—such as S4C (Wales’ Welsh-language broadcaster), BBC, ITV, RTÉ, Virgin Media Television, and TG4. This complexity adds an additional layer of difficulty to any potential deal, especially for international streamers like Netflix.

The television landscape in the Republic of Ireland mirrors that of the UK, with the state broadcaster RTÉ sharing rights with its largest commercial broadcaster, Virgin Media. This further complicates the process for any streaming or pay-tv network attempting to secure exclusive broadcasting rights for the tournament across both nations.

All of this is part of a larger issue that’s slowly spiralling out of control. There have been growing calls to end the long-standing partnership between the BBC and ITV in the UK, which historically split the broadcasting rights to ensure that the Six Nations remained available to the public without falling behind a paywall. While some may oppose this shift, the reality is that the BBC alone no longer has the financial means to shoulder the costs of exclusive coverage, making the prospect of a pay-tv deal increasingly likely.

As a result, the future of free-to-air Six Nations coverage may be drawing to a close. If the trend continues, 2026 could mark the final year that the tournament is widely accessible to the general public without the need for a pay-tv subscription.

In summary, the landscape of Six Nations broadcasting is on the brink of a significant shift. With the rise of streaming services and pay-tv networks looking to capitalize on the lucrative rights to major sports events, the days of free-to-air coverage for the Six Nations Championship may soon be numbered. Whether this shift will be met with widespread approval or frustration remains to be seen, but it’s clear that the future of rugby union on TV is evolving rapidly.