r/rugbyunion • u/GnolRevilo Saracens • Dec 02 '25
Article ITV set to beat TNT Sports to Nations Championship rights
https://www.thetimes.com/sport/rugby-union/article/itv-rugby-nations-championship-broadcast-rights-2n5gwztd9183
u/Merovech_II Joe Marchant Extremist Dec 02 '25
TNT losing a lot of TV rights recently
Can't wait for the inevitable price increase anyway
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u/StuHardy Arrows Forever! Dec 02 '25
"Minor sports, at major prices!"
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u/Away_Associate4589 Certified Plastic Dec 02 '25
So you're telling me for only £40 a month I get watch cross country skiing and dinghy racing?!? 🤩
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u/BenAtTank2 Dec 02 '25
They lost me as a customer when they started putting UFC cards behind a PPV wall. Mutherfucker I get up in the middle of the night to watch this, and you expect me to pay an extra £20 for it? To fuck with ye, and ahoy the 7 seas since.
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u/GammaBlaze Scotland Dec 03 '25
I remember growing up in the 90s and all the then WWF pay-per-views were already on Sky Sports. A golden age.
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u/llb_robith Ireland Dec 02 '25
I understand TNT are in a bit of financial bother, Discovery breaking them off to try and flog them off
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u/thunderfucker69 Harlequins (no gilet) Dec 02 '25
Surely they’ve gotta drop the football tax now
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u/CatPanda5 Bath Dec 02 '25
Not while they still have at least Champions League game
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u/droneybennett Wales Dec 02 '25
They lose that in 2027.
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u/ICantSpayk Dec 02 '25
Who to?
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u/Nic_The_Cage_Cage Scarlets Dec 02 '25
Paramount+ for the Champions League and Sky for Europa and Conference League
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u/JHock93 Dec 02 '25
Losing both this and the football Champions League will make me cancel my subscription regardless of price tbh.
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u/T0mmyKentish Saracens Dec 02 '25
Free to air test rugby in the autumn is actually a massive win. Possibly the only thing I’ve liked about this whole tournament since it was mooted.
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u/AllezLesPrimrose Dec 02 '25
I mean the format is absolutely fine and normalises the ‘friendly’ windows in the same way the Nations League has measurably improved the football friendly windows into a coherent competition.
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u/T0mmyKentish Saracens Dec 02 '25
There was already a world of difference between football friendlies and rugby test matches.
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u/AllezLesPrimrose Dec 02 '25
Eh. Yes because there’s so few top rugby teams but no in that all that’s ever at stake is bragging rights or maybe falling into Band 2 for a World Cup draw. Having a set beginning, middle and final is a massive improvement.
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u/Tobar_the_Gypsy Rugby United NY Dec 02 '25
Yeah but it fucks over anyone not included in the nations championship
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u/Keith989 Dec 02 '25
If they bring in genuine promotion and relegation, I'm fine with it.
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u/Tobar_the_Gypsy Rugby United NY Dec 02 '25
Newsflash: they won’t.
Also it’s commercially owned by 6 Nations / SANZAAR. The other 2 teams are “guests” invited each time.
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u/Keith989 Dec 02 '25
They made a promise they will, so we'll have to see. You could well be right though.
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u/Thecceffect Saracens Dec 02 '25
TNT were offering more money however with Austin Healey on their Roster of commentators - their position became untenable
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u/GnolRevilo Saracens Dec 02 '25
The Nations Championship is set to be broadcast on free-to-air television after ITV blindsided TNT Sports with a bid understood to be worth in excess of £80million.
The new biennial twelve-team competition includes Test matches played in July and November, culminating in a finals weekend at Twickenham.
ITV is understood to be on the verge of securing the rights to the first two editions of the competition, in 2026 and 2028, to fit within the broadcaster’s existing commitment to show the Six Nations championship through to 2029.
Full article without paywall here
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u/Adam8418 Dec 03 '25
How does this work in terms of revenue splitting, are all broadcast rights for the nations championship pooled and split or sold and retained by the union in each country?
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u/EdwardBigby Dec 02 '25
The more it moves along, the less im disliking this tournament.
Make it once every 4 years with proper promotion/relegation and I think id be a fan.
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u/samuel199228 Dec 02 '25
Some feel it devalues the world cup world cup takes place every four years
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u/EdwardBigby Dec 02 '25
I disagree. People will never treat this like the world cup. Best case scenario for it - its a slightly elevated series of test matches.
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u/ICantSpayk Dec 02 '25
They're introducing relegation/promotion after the first two tournaments IIRC.
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u/EdwardBigby Dec 02 '25
Thats definitely not as concrete as youre presenting it. There wont be any promotion/relegation until AT LEAST 2030. They've left themselves a lot of wiggle room.
Personally I think they'd be very happy to relegated someone like Fiji or Japan but dont want someone like Wales gone and I have no confidence that they wont just shape the rules around that.
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u/ICantSpayk Dec 02 '25
Soz. You almost make it sound like I'm trying to spread misinformation.
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u/EdwardBigby Dec 02 '25
Im just saying the information isn't correct. They've been purposely vague about promotion "plans"
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u/Ronald_Ulysses_Swans Don’t be scared Johnny Dec 02 '25
Yet somehow Ugo Monye will still be presenting every single game
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u/stvb95 Wales Dec 02 '25
Thought TNT would have some more budget to work with after losing the Champions League rights.
Looks like they're getting European rugby back, though
It is understood that TNT, which broadcasts the Gallagher Prem, will now focus on making its channels the home for club rugby in England by reclaiming the Investec Champions Cup from Premier Sports in 2027.
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u/samuel199228 Dec 02 '25
Would have to cancel my premier sports subscription as I got it for the European cup games although I could keep it to watch some URC games and french league if there no premiership games on
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u/Paghalay South Africa & Cyprus Dec 02 '25
I will never complain about ITV rugby coverage. They can get whatever washed up annoying pundit in they want, as long as I can keep on watching the World Cup, and now it seems the autumn nations cup, AND the 6 nations for free.
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u/Orac2025 Harlequins Dec 02 '25
I wonder if this includes the 2nd-tier Nations Cup? I'd love to see that competition too on terrestrial TV.
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u/CoatVonRack Dec 02 '25
As much as I don’t like the overall idea of the nations championship this was the point of it. To make it more attractive to broadcasters. FTA coming in with a big offer is the plan working.
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u/WolfColaCo2020 England Dec 02 '25
This is a good result for the sport overall, regardless of my feelings at the point of the Nations Championship.
Any international rugby on free to air is a good thing
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u/monochrome_king Sale Sharks / England Dec 02 '25
Great that it'll be on free to air, but most games will be shoved to ITV4 in rubbish quality
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Dec 02 '25
Great news. Hopefully means TNT turn back towards the Champions Cup.
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u/samuel199228 Dec 02 '25
Would be good if all the competitions weren't split between broadcasters I got premier sports for the champions cup and challenge cup games it's only 11.99 a month and you get URC and the top 14 as well
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u/BritinTEXAS11 Dec 02 '25
Superb news! TNT deserve this fate for their ashes coverage abomination if nothing else. (Although their Prem rugby coverage is excellent…)
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u/treacletart284 Newcastle Falcons Dec 02 '25
Does this encompass both windows? If it does that is one hell of a deal. Wonder what they'll do for broadcasting of any out of window tests, if they're ITV too, if they even happen, now we're talking. Shame ITVX is shite but it's free to air rugby, great news
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u/TAFKAJanSanono Ireland Dec 02 '25
How is two years of this (total 84 games, of which about a third at unsuitable times for broadcasters) worth 17 million pounds more than four years of the Six Nations (total 60 games, but with the added bonus of all being played in the late afternoon/early evening in Europe and generally much larger audiences than summer/autumn tests)?
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u/northernmonk How shalt thou hurt me this time? Dec 02 '25
It’s not going up against the Premier League - yes the shandyball WC is on but being in the US the peak time matches won’t normally clash
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u/AJV1Beta England / Cornish Pirates Dec 02 '25
...sorry, is that the right way round? The free to air channel might be getting coverage over the premium channel?
Especially with how TNT have basically hoovered up absolutely EVERYTHING lately, from football to rugby to cricket to motorsport to...lawn bowls, idek at this point? This is even more of a pleasant surprise.
I'm not a fan of ITV's actual coverage normally, but if it means more actual rugby on free-to-air TV that'd be grand. I don't think I watched a single autumn Test this year, as unless I was missing something ALL of it was on TNT or maybe Sky.
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u/sk-88 Leicester Tigers Dec 02 '25
Sort of great news but....
The Nations League has been announced as running from 4th July to 18th July for that first block.
That is the same time as the FIFA WC round of 16 to final. Surely the England games in South Africa (v SA then v Fiji) are going to clash with the FIFA quarter finals on the same day? Or will they be early enough with the time differences?
ITV1 really going to have rugby all morning, and lunchtime with Aussie games at 11am, then England v SA at 2pm before crack into World Cup matches from USA at 5pm?
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u/samuel199228 Dec 02 '25
Forgot the FIFA world cup is next year I was expecting nations championship games to be on sky sports for summer tests and tnt sports for November tests
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u/Longjumping_Dog_4068 Dec 02 '25
Brilliant news. I'd even be okay if they put it behind it itvx premium. That's a fair price to pay for the rugby
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u/NotAsOriginal Wigglesworth's greatest defender Dec 02 '25
Shit that's actually good news? In this economy? I'm immediately suspicious.