TNT Sports encouraged by Autumn Nations Series viewing figures as Six Nations rights decision looms
The November rugby internationals have seen strong levels of interest across Europe with executives at governing bodies and broadcasters understood to be pleased with viewing figures.
TNT Sports, who are in their first year as the UK broadcaster of the Autumn Nations Series after taking over from Amazon, are said to be particularly encouraged by the week-on-week growth in interest in their first significant, sustained involvement in international rugby.
The England vs South Africa clash last weekend set a new record rugby audience for the channel, formerly BT Sport, with interest in line with top Premier League and Champions League games. The viewing figures across the autumn have grown week-by-week, with an 11 per cent rise in interest between the second round of fixtures and the third. Sixty per cent of TNT viewers watched more than one game last weekend, while, in France, last week’s encounter between Fabien Galthie’s side and the All Blacks was viewed by an average of 7.3m people on TF1.
There has also been growth in Premiership viewership over the last two seasons, with TNT’s “live-to-live” strategy of rolling directly from coverage of the Saturday lunchtime Premier League fixture into the afternoon rugby having a significant impact. That has continued into the autumn internationals: almost half of the audience for England vs New Zealand also tuned in to the preceding Newcastle vs Arsenal fixture beforehand. That crossover is seen as significant as rugby seeks to attract new fans of the sport.
TNT’s involvement in international rugby comes at an intriguing time in the rights space. 2025 is the final year of the existing shared deal between the BBC and ITV to show the men’s Six Nations in the United Kingdom. The terrestial future of the competition appears to be in doubt, with outgoing BBC Sport director Barbara Slater cautioning last year that the broadcaster may be priced out of contention.
An official tender process is likely to open early next year, with insiders insisting that all options are on the table. Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison has a strong background in television rights, with reports of that the former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO is set to return to cricket said to be wide of the mark.
Executives also hope to be able to go to market with the rights to the new “Nations Cup” competition by the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2025 at the latest. The revamped international competition will feature 12 of the world’s top nations, with the inaugural finals set to be held in London in November 2026.
At a time where many unions are struggling financially, there is hope that the tournament will provide an uplift in broadcast rights returns for the sport, though time is need to properly pitch a new competition to broadcasters.
TNT Sports renewed their deal to show every game of the Gallagher Premiership earlier this year on what are believed to be reduced terms. Premier Sports, though, have secured the rights to the Champions Cup, with an exclusive deal in the UK meaning matches from the European competition will no longer be shown on English free-to-air television.
