Premier Sports secures non-exclusive Six Nations TV rights
At a glance
Premier Sports to broadcast 5 matches from the 2026 Men’s Six Nations in the UK
BBC to provide live coverage alongside Premier Sports
New deal compliments Premier Sports’ significant rugby portfolio
All Virgin Media TV customers in UK to gain access to Premier Sports Rugby channel at no extra cost
In a surprise move, Premier Sports announced this week that the broadcaster will show one fixture from every round of the 2026 Men’s Six Nations.
Free-to-air coverage maintained
Th new deal with Premier Sports is separate to the free-to-air agreements that were announced in 2025 – the BBC, ITV and S4C will continue to share the rights in the UK until 2029.
ITV has gained 10 fixtures per year, including every England game, while the BBC will broadcast the remaining five fixtures alongside Premier Sports. S4C will continue to broadcast games involving Wales, while in Ireland RTÉ and Virgin Media will continue to split the rights until 2029.
Guinness Six Nations 2026 – live on Premier Sports (UK only)
Italy v Scotland – Saturday 7 February (14:10), Stadio Olympico, Rome
Wales v France – Sunday 15 February (15:10), Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Wales v Scotland – Saturday 21 February (16:40), Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Scotland v France – Saturday 7 March (14:10), Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Wales v Italy – Saturday 14 March (16:40), Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Rugby pundits Tom Shanklin, Andy Goode, Jim Hamilton, Ryan Wilson and Benjamin Kayser have all been lined up for Premier Sports’ coverage.
International coverage
As part of this week’s announcement it was confirmed that Premier Sports has secured the rights to stream the Six Nations in certain Asian countries. The Irish broadcaster has also acquired exclusive broadcast rights to the competition in Canada, where it also boasts exclusive rights to the new Nations Championship, SANZAAR tour matches and Super Rugby Pacific.
Premier Sports Rugby and new sponsor
Virgin Media has revealed that all its TV customers in the UK can now access Premier Sports’ dedicated 24/7 rugby channel at no additional cost. Previously this channel was only available to Virgin Media customers who subscribed to Premier Sports.
Separately Sky Media has revealed that Heineken 0.0 is now the main sponsor of Premier Sports’ Champions Cup and Challenge Cup coverage in Ireland. The partnership runs until May 2027.
“Significant audience and subscriber growth”
Richard Sweeney, CEO of Premier Sports, said: “The Guinness Six Nations is one of the crown jewels of international rugby. The Championship showcases the world’s best players and remains one of the most culturally significant competitions in interazurenational sport and we're delighted to bring these outstanding fixtures to our customers and growing rugby network."
“We have seen significant audience and subscriber growth in the past year through our live coverage of the Investec Champions Cup and France’s TOP14, and the addition of Six Nations matches further strengthens our rugby proposition for viewers, advertisers and partners. 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,” added Sweeney.
The Rugby Broadcast take
This week’s announcement further cements Premier Sports’ position as the leading rugby broadcaster in the UK. Its growing rugby portfolio now includes the URC, Champions Cup, Challenge Cup, Top 14, Japan Rugby League One and Major League Rugby. In 2025 the broadcaster also showed a number of November internationals and launched a 24/7 dedicated rugby channel in the UK, underlining a clear ambition to become the go-to destination for rugby fans.
From a Six Nations perspective, this new deal is particularly notable as it marks the first time the tournament will be shown on pay-TV in the UK. Before announcing new deals with FTA broadcasters in 2025, reports had suggested that serious discussions were held with TNT Sports about placing the tournament fully behind a paywall. This move would undoubtedly have been been met with significant backlash. The new deal with Premier Sports gives tournament organisers the opportunity to test the waters, while ensuring that FTA is maintained.
From Premier Sports’ perspective, the new deal is unlikely a subscriber acquisition play but does offer existing subscribers more value for money. In an interview with Rugby Broadcast in 2025, Premier Sports CEO Richard Sweeney said the broadcaster is comfortable sharing rights with other providers and is not solely focused on exclusivity. This latest announcement is another clear example of that approach in action.
This development is part of a wider trend in the sports industry where various sports organisations now offer numerous rights packages to attract multiple broadcasters, rather than prioritising exclusivity to a single broadcaster. The URC is a prime example of this, with different rights packages sold to multiple broadcasters in both the UK and Ireland. Exclusivity is no longer the be-all and end-all.