RTÉ extends 6 Nations contract

[An Tarbh]

RTÉ has extended its contract to cover the Six Nations up to and including 2013.

Their current deal expires after 2009.

As well as the live tv coverage of all 15 games there will be live online streaming on rte.ie within the island of Ireland.

From 2010 RTÉ will also resume their role as host broadcaster for Ireland's home games taking over from the BBC who have done the job since 2003. About time as well.

It's quite a coup for RTÉ considering that the government have not listed the Six Nations as an A list event, meaning Setanta could have gained exclusive rights without having to resell them on like they did with the world cup.

 

[Prestwick]

I thought RT-Eh, BBC, etc were collectively bargaining with the Unions...or was it the other way round...

I wouldn't worry, if the IRFU sold their rights to Setanta, you'd have a similar crisis as when the RFU sold their Six Nations rights to Sky back in the late 1990s (i.e. the other Unions ostracising the RFU until they agreed to switch back to the BBC after the end of the deal with Sky).

As long as the French and Italian unions insist on having their Six Nations on free-to-air then I wouldn't worry. Also, if Silvio Berlusconi becomes PM of Italy again count the idea of the Six Nations moving onto any pay to view broadcaster an impossibility.

 

[An Tarbh]

This isn't the IRFU selling the rights to RTÉ, it's the Six Nations organising committee selling RTÉ the rights to all games. It was the RFU who went on their own when they sold the rights to Sky, so if Setanta had picked up the rights there would have been nothing that anyone could have done about it.

 

[Prestwick]

Yeah I know, I just wanted to confirm that it were the Unions who were collectively barganing with the media rather than the other way around.

Either way, its doubtful that any pay-per-view broadcaster is going to get their dirty mitts on the Six Nations in the next decade or so. Not unless there is a radical change in the way nations like France and Italy view the commitments of their public service broadcasters.

 

[shazbooger]

Oh but just for the record, Setanta's primary channel is free to air over here so if they get the rights for the rugby its still available for all to watch.

Personally I didnt think they did a bad job of the WC. Neill Francis is without doubt the best Irish rugby pundit out there. Prefer to listen to him, then Hook and Pope.

 

[An Tarbh]

It was going so well until that Francis comment, the man is without doubt the biggest pillock ever to have graced the rugby field and so full of his own importance that Dunphy and Hook combined don't even come close to having as big an ego.

I think that Setanta's coverage is generally excellent but I do switch off when Franno is on. What is it with former Irish second rowers making awful pundits, Lenihan also springs to mind.

It's only NTL customers who get Setanta free so that pretty much rules out most areas outside Dublin.

 

[shazbooger]

Ahhh we can agree to differ on that one then. Franno is the only pundit pre-worldcup, that stated we would struggle to progress. He called it as he saw it, in that Argentina would surprise us all, and that France would be too strong.
I remember hearing him say that on the radio before the world cup, and it certainly rang home for me. I refused to believe it of course (as we all did), but I remember it now quite clearly. He was the only one that got it right.
He comes across as a smug ******* alright, but I suppose I like him, when compared to the others available to us.