The organizer of rugby union’s iconic annual Six Nations tournament has announced a new media rights agreement with UK-based pay-TV streaming service Premier Sports, which will showcase action from the tournament for the first time.
Premier Sports has acquired a five-game slate of fixtures, one per matchweek, on a non-exclusive basis, meaning that it will not interfere with the existing Six Nations media rights deals with free-to-air broadcasters BBC, ITV, and Welsh-language S4C.
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The slate will begin with Italy vs Scotland on February 7, followed by Wales vs France (February 15), Wales vs Scotland (February 21), Scotland vs France (March 7), and Wales vs Italy (March 14).
The current free-to-air broadcast agreements with the UK distributors run through 2029, with BBC and ITV having renewed their agreements early in 2025.
BBC and ITV will continue to split the rights for the next four editions of the marquee tournament, with ITV gaining 10 fixtures per year, including every England game, while BBC will show the remaining five fixtures per year, including every Scotland and Wales home game (except when each team hosts England).
Meanwhile, Wales games will all be available elsewhere on S4C, where they will remain for the next four years courtesy of an October extension.
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By GlobalDataIn addition to the non-exclusive UK rights, Premier Sports will also showcase its Six Nations coverage in a range of Asian Markets, and additionally is the exclusive broadcaster of the tournament in Canada.
Speaking on the announcement, Premier Sports chief executive Richard Sweeney commented: “Our ability to reach audiences both in the UK and internationally is a key part of Premier Sports’ strategy. We can combine high-quality live coverage with our flexible streaming platforms to bring world-class rugby to fans wherever they are.”
Premier Sports has adopted a strong focus on rugby as of late, with the launch of a dedicated rugby channel on linear TV and its OTT platform.
Alongside the Six Nations, Premier Sports also holds the rights in the UK to the elite Champions Cup and secondary EPCR Challenge Cup pan-European competitions, the United Rugby Championship tournament, France’s elite Top 14 domestic competition, Japan’s Rugby League One top-flight, and the US’ Major League Rugby top tier.
Despite the fact that Premier Sports’ rights are not exclusive, they nonetheless serve as a valuable proposition for the OTT service.
GlobalData Sport associate analyst Tom Subak-Sharpe explained: “Premier Sports’ acquisition of rights to broadcast five live matches from the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations represents a clear step up in the network’s profile.
“By adding high-interest fixtures involving Scotland and Wales, Premier puts its brand in front of casual viewers who may not routinely follow club rugby but reliably tune in during Six Nations weekends.”
“Strategically, the deal complements Premier Sports’ wider rugby proposition. Six Nations matches can operate as “shop window” programming: premium, appointment-to-view content that creates spikes in attention and offers a natural pathway to convert interest into longer-term viewing habits once the international window ends.
“Even without exclusivity, being part of the UK broadcast partnership alongside BBC, ITV and S4C provides a halo effect—enhancing Premier’s credibility with fans, sponsors and future rights holders, while reinforcing its positioning as a serious rugby destination.”
Despite the positive effects for Premier Sports’ business, Subak-Sharpe contends that this first foray into paywalling Six Nations content poses several questions for the future of the tournament on UK screens.
“While free-to-air access is protected for these fixtures in 2026, the very presence of a pay-TV broadcaster in the rights mix may be interpreted as a first step toward a gradual shift of Six Nations inventory onto subscription platforms in the coming years.
“That prospect is contentious. For many supporters, the Six Nations is a shared national event that has historically thrived on reach and accessibility. Any move that increasingly places marquee matches behind a paywall risks fan backlash and could prompt debate over whether maximising rights revenue should take priority over mass audience exposure and the competition’s cultural status.”
“Commercially, non-exclusive rights limit Premier’s ability to “own” the audience for these games, and the cost of Six Nations content is likely significant. The upside lies less in displacing BBC viewing and more in attracting high-intent rugby audiences—“super-fans” willing to pay for a deeper year-round schedule—then retaining them through Premier’s extensive club and international portfolio.
“Added value also comes from stronger advertising and sponsorship leverage around premium fixtures and from international distribution, including streaming in selected Asian markets and exclusive Six Nations rights in Canada. Overall, it is best viewed as a brand-building and distribution play rather than an exclusivity-driven rights grab.”
Meanwhile, in France, Six Nations rightsholder France Televisions has agreed a sub-licensing deal with commercial broadcaster TF1, which will now show nine of the 16 fixtures.
France Télévisions managed to fend off competition from TF1 for the coveted rights back in June and will keep those rights through 2029, but has now opted to sublicense the majority of games to its rival.
The media enterprise said that the decision came in part due to its commitments to also air coverage of the upcoming 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will coincide with the tournament.
France Télévisions will retain all three France home games, against Ireland, England, and Italy, while TF1 will take on Wales’ home game against France on February 15, and Scotland’s home game against France on March 7, as well as seven other games, all of which it will showcase on the TF1 linear channel and the TF1+ service.
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%.
The 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.
TF1 has already solidified its position as a strong rugby broadcaster in France, holding the rights to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, the Rugby Nations Championships in 2026 and 2028, and the Summer Nations Series in 2027, and the Autumn Nations Series in 2029.
