Rugby World Cup and Six Nations said to be at risk of ending up behind pay-walls.
The future of free-to-air rugby coverage in the UK is under threat, say top executives from the BBC and ITV.
The Rugby World Cup and The Six Nations could potentially end up behind pay-walls, making streaming options for consumers even more expensive. This is largely due to rising media rights costs and falling revenues for Britain’s free-to-air broadcasters.
Barbara Slater, the outgoing Director of Sport at the BBC, and Niall Sloane, ITV’s Director of Sport, recently appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to discuss this issue.
Slater noted that media rights costs have doubled over the past decade, while the BBC’s income in real terms has decreased by 30% during the same period.
The BBC has managed to secure deals with commercial firms ITV and Sky. However, these partnerships may be jeopardized by escalating media rights costs.
The primary free-to-air rugby content offered by the BBC and ITV includes international team competitions such as the Rugby World Cup and The Six Nations. The latter has been free-to-air since 2003 but could potentially end up behind a pay-wall due to financial pressures facing broadcasters.
Despite assurances from Slater that they are open to innovative partnership models, concerns persist about competitions like The Six Nations becoming inaccessible without payment.
Certain events such as FIFA World Cup, Olympics and Rugby World Cup final are Category A sporting events. Their free-to-air status is guaranteed by government legislation. However, this protection does not extend to The Six Nations.
ITV’s Sloane added that there's always speculation about these deals shifting partially or wholly to a pay operator—less so with the Rugby World Cup because only two deals have been made during his tenure at ITV.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) recently updated on the second reading of its Media Bill, aiming to protect free access to crown jewel sports events. However, rugby tournaments are conspicuously missing from the bill, leaving their broadcasting fate a commercial matter.
The future of free-to-air rugby coverage in the UK remains uncertain. Rising media rights costs and falling broadcaster revenues could potentially lead to popular competitions like The Six Nations ending up behind pay-walls.
This situation underscores the need for innovative partnership models and government intervention to ensure continued free-to-air exposure of key sporting events in the UK.