Rugby union's two most powerful regional bodies – Europe's Six Nations and the Southern Hemisphere SANZAAR body – have agreed to pool their media rights and sponsorship deals for the first time.
This means, practically speaking, that the sport's southern hemisphere giants – South Africa, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand – will receive revenue from the Six Nations European championship, as well as from the British and Irish Lions tours.
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On the other side of the ledger, the Six Nations members – England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, and France – will receive income from the Rugby Championship (played between Australia, South Africa, Argentina, and New Zealand).
This news first emerged yesterday, as reported by The Guardian publication, ahead of the resumption of the 2026 Nations Championship – in which all the southern hemisphere nations play their European counterparts, home and away – this coming weekend.
Rights for the Nations Championship – with the inaugural edition being held this year – are already sold collectively, with the revenue split between the 10 main members (the Six Nations teams, plus the four southern hemisphere countries listed above).
In order to sell these rights, a new agency will be established by the current Nations Championship management board.
It has been reported that the collective sales process for sponsorships will come into effect from 2028 onwards, but that the media rights element will not take effect until the following year (the current individual Six Nations and Sanzaar deals run until 2029).
Earlier this week, it emerged that Qatar will no longer be hosting the end-of-competition finals for the 2028 edition of the Nations Championship.
Eight months of conflict between Iran and a US-Israel coalition, as well as increasing tensions in Saudi Arabia with the Houthi rebel group (which has recently claimed credit for multiple attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia), have left confidence in the region from a sports event hosting perspective low, despite the large sums of money that countries in the Middle East can dedicate towards hosting fees.
Furthermore, Qatar Airways, the country’s flag carrier, which would have been the title sponsor of the event, has also pulled out of its commitment.
Paris’ Stade de France is reportedly the most likely venue to replace Qatar.
