France Televisions, the country’s public-service broadcaster, has retained domestic rights to rugby union’s Six Nations for four additional years.
The renewed agreement with Six Nations Rugby, the organizer and rights distributor of the European rugby union competition, will see the broadcaster remain the exclusive home of all the competition's matches, from both the men's and women's editions.
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The new contract will run from 2026 through the 2029 edition.
The value of the new deal has not been disclosed, but the previous contract, which was agreed in May 2022 and expired after this year’s competition, was understood to be worth just over €30 million per year.
France Televisions has managed to keep the Six Nations rights despite competition from French commercial broadcaster TF1.
The 2025 men's edition of the six-team tournament, won by France, attracted an average of 7.3 million viewers for the French team's matches, with an audience share of 45.7%.
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By GlobalDataThe final game against Scotland (a 35-16 victory) attracted more than 9.5 million viewers on the France 2 channel, with a peak audience of 10.7 million.
The Six Nations extension adds to renewals already secured by France Televisions for major sports properties, including tennis’ French Open until 2027, cycling’s Tour de France through 2030, and the Olympic Games until 2032.
In another of the key Six Nations markets, the competition will remain on free-to-air TV in the UK through 2029 following renewed and enhanced partnerships with public service broadcaster BBC and commercial free-to-air network ITV in March.
The Six Nations – contested by England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Wales, and Italy – has still to ensure continued coverage deals in Italy and Ireland, as well as Welsh-language coverage within the UK, and other worldwide distribution beyond participating nation markets, which will be focused on rugby-centric territories such as South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
