Will rugby survive in the UK if the Six Nations goes behind a paywall?

by The TRU Team  Friday 6 March 2020

©Steve Haag

The day that many thought would eventually arrive has with the prospect of the Six Nations going behind a paywall now a very real one. Organisers of the Six Nations have said that any speculation is highly premature, but in the same breath have said that they ‘would not rule anything out.’ Whatever your feeling may be on the matter, you must hand it to the Six Nations bosses for managing to sound reassuring as well as threatening at the same time.

The very fact that this conversation is even taking place suggests that, if it doesn’t happen now, it will in the not so distant future. The clamour from local MPs from towns in Wales, and the sentiment felt by thousands of rugby lovers across the country, may just be enough to keep the Six Nations on free-to-air TV, for now. There is obviously no guarantee of that and the question must be asked: will rugby survive in the UK if the Six Nations goes behind a paywall?

These types of scenarios are often hard to predict and are obviously heavily dependent on the individual and how passionate they are about rugby. There will surely be some who won’t bat an eyelid and will happily fork out £20 a month for Sky or Amazon, as long as they can keep watching the Six Nations. Naturally, there will also be quite a few who already have a paid TV subscription that it won’t affect at all. 

But the danger is that a Six Nations paywall would cut the cord to the thousands of fans that the game actually relies on. You can also easily imagine a scenario where fans, with the financial means to pay for the Six Nations, don’t as they take a principled stance on the matter. Some could argue that would in actual fact be like cutting off your nose to spite your face but, then again, that’s what pulling the rug out from under people's feet does, it causes a divisive situation. 

A large amount of the audience that watches the Six Nations are probably also fair-weather rugby fans, meaning that they treat it the same as the FA Cup final or Wimbledon. Instead of being fanatics, they enjoy the occasion and the passion that comes every February when the Six Nations arrives. So many in the United Kingdom, whilst shouting for either Wales, Scotland, England, or even Ireland for that matter, won’t be distraught if one of them doesn’t eventually lift the trophy come the end of the tournament. 

In fact, many are probably thoroughly enjoying the fairytale run France are putting together in 2020, as they hone in on their first championship since 2010. That is at least what the Six Nations betting indicates, with the French as favourites at 8/11 to do so. 

The French have breathed life into this tournament and would have inspired many with their aggressive rugby.Beating England in Paris, and Wales in Cardiff is a phenomenal feat for such a young side.

If the Six Nations goes behind a paywall, many people will lose the opportunity to see an underdog like France win, which will undoubtedly hurt the growth of the game.

Sadly, the lure of £300 million may prove all too much for the guardians of the Six Nations, and rugby followers around the United Kingdom should begin readying a contingency plan

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