RTE, the Irish public service broadcaster, and commercial network Virgin Media will continue to provide free-to-air (FTA) coverage of rugby union’s Six Nations competition after announcing a new four-year rights deal.
The broadcasters will continue to show the men’s, women’s, and the U20 Six Nations, with every game live through 2029.
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Over the next four years, fixtures from each edition of the three championships will be shared equally by the two Irish broadcasters, with confirmation of how the matches will be shared set to follow.
RTÉ will also hold audio and radio rights to the men’s Six Nations – contested by Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy – until 2029.
Declan McBennett, RTÉ group head of sport, said: “The Six Nations tournaments remain marquee international sports rights and RTÉ are delighted to join with Virgin Media in bringing the games to a mass audience.
“Ireland’s success in recent years is further evidence of just how important these games are to the Irish sporting public. We hugely value this opportunity to acquire the free-to-air rights and to serve our audience.”
Mick McCaffrey, director of news and sport at Virgin Media Television, added: “Free-to-air broadcasting has been instrumental in the growing popularity of rugby in Ireland. Together with RTÉ, we’re ensuring that the men’s, women’s and U20 Six Nations remain accessible to fans across the country, and we look forward to delivering four more years of top-class rugby to Irish audiences.”
The Six Nations will also 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 earlier this year.
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By GlobalDataIn June, France Televisions, the country’s public-service broadcaster, retained domestic rights to the national teams tournament for four additional years.
The Six Nations has still to conclude a rights deal in Italy, 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.
The 2026 edition of the Six Nations will begin on February 5.
