This could be a very sad day for International rugby in the Northern Hemisphere with Sky and Amazon beginning negotiations for 6 Nations tv rights in the coming weeks says Chief Executive Ben Morel according to The Sun.
A competition that is huge for fans in the UK and Ireland and is always watched on RTE, Virgin Media, ITV and the BBC might be saying goodbye to terrestrial television and saying hello to broadcasting giants Sky and Amazon.
“There’s no reason for that to be the case.
“The 2021 is the Championship that marks the start of a new process for broadcast rights in several of our territories.
“For the United Kingdom and Ireland, conversations will start in the coming weeks, and we will be talking to all of the various broadcasters.
“As is the nature of the industry, we are entering into a new broadcast discussion and we will have to, like any other year, strike the right balance from the needed revenue that is needed to come back into the game.
The 6 Nations Chief Exec speaks of the money needed to come back into the game as world rugby saw a massive loss in revenue due to the present Corona Virus pandemic and the money has to come back in some way.
It’s hard to imagine that local tv station can compete with the likes of Sky and Amazon as the pay to view services already bought the rights to the Autumn Nations Cup and Autumn Series.
“Everything goes back into growing the game of rugby and we are in need of appropriate financing and circumstances here are quite telling in terms of that.
“But at the same time, you need to find the right balance between the financing and the exposure and the aspirational content we can bring to new audiences in order for the game to grow.
“That balance is going to be the same as it has been before. At the same time, the way consumers and fans consume sport and content is fast evolving.”
Sky also have the Lions Tour which is still in doubt for this summer.
Should the 6 Nations sell the rights to Sky and Amazon to bring money back into the countries after the pandemic or should they sacrifice money and keep it free-to-air?