Six Nations Rugby going behind a TV paywall

[Weldit]

Very strange how boxing managed that, I'm not in marketing or anything, so no idea why Boxing works and other sports can't make it work, because I'm sure they would all do it if they could.

The new paywall is coming, 100%. TV licensing just need to work out a strategy of conversion without losing 80% of its current forced customer base

I don't follow boxing, but i imagine certain fighters only face each other now and then which makes it more of an event over other sports.


As for rugby, I do think they need to tone down just how ridiculously heavy they've become. It's too demanding on the body and just not needed.

 

[dirty harry]

I don't follow boxing, but i imagine certain fighters only face each other now and then which makes it more of an event over other sports.


As for rugby, I do think they need to tone down just how ridiculously heavy they've become. It's too demanding on the body and just not needed.

I think it's worse than that, it alienates children, scares parents, and doesn't add to the sport as a spectacle.

World rugby keeps making changes for safety reasons with no consideration to the reprocessing of those changes, and in a lot of cases makes the game more dangerous.

I was chatting to a friend recently who was advocating for 15 subs, why not the genie is out of the bottle, why not allow a full team to be replaced.

My first instinct was to convert NFL linesman, and have a 12-3 split on my bench so I could replaced my front row after 25-30 mins, then again on 50-55 mins. And that's the consequences of actions world rugby never consider.

 

[AlRums]

I think it's worse than that, it alienates children, scares parents, and doesn't add to the sport as a spectacle.

World rugby keeps making changes for safety reasons with no consideration to the reprocessing of those changes, and in a lot of cases makes the game more dangerous.

I was chatting to a friend recently who was advocating for 15 subs, why not the genie is out of the bottle, why not allow a full team to be replaced.

My first instinct was to convert NFL linesman, and have a 12-3 split on my bench so I could replaced my front row after 25-30 mins, then again on 50-55 mins. And that's the consequences of actions world rugby never consider.

Have full replacement would be so American, they don't have the stamina for a full game of sport. Maybe the sport should be renamed from rugby football to American football.

 

[dirty harry]

Have full replacement would be so American, they don't have the stamina for a full game of sport. Maybe the sport should be renamed from rugby football to American football.

Do modern day props have the stamina for 80 mins?

 

[AlRums]

Do modern day props have the stamina for 80 mins?

No, and I abhore this idea of a starting and finishing team.

I wouldn't be against creating a law only allowing four subs to be used as "planned replacements" and four for enforced replacements, ie injuries, hia and blood injury replacement, any four out of eight.

I think the bench has been abused to allow almost essentially two different teams to compete.

 

[Rugbyfan564]

Amazon have ruled out a bid according to Martyn Ziegler of the Times.

Amazon rules out bid for Six Nations TV rights

The prospect of the Six Nations remaining on ITV and the BBC has increased as it appears Amazon Prime has ruled out bidding for the rights from 2026.

The tournament is seen as being a potential "poisoned chalice" for subscription platforms — the old Five Nations championships was on Sky from 1997 to 2000 but it was widely regarded as being an unsuccessful move, especially for the sport's wider profile.

TNT Sports, which shows Premiership Rugby, has already said it would be "very challenging" because of legal complications and the cultural association with terrestrial TV.

 

[AlRums]

Amazon have ruled out a bid according to Martyn Ziegler of the Times.

Amazon rules out bid for Six Nations TV rights

The prospect of the Six Nations remaining on ITV and the BBC has increased as it appears Amazon Prime has ruled out bidding for the rights from 2026.

The tournament is seen as being a potential "poisoned chalice" for subscription platforms — the old Five Nations championships was on Sky from 1997 to 2000 but it was widely regarded as being an unsuccessful move, especially for the sport's wider profile.

TNT Sports, which shows Premiership Rugby, has already said it would be "very challenging" because of legal complications and the cultural association with terrestrial TV.

The sky deal was a disaster precisely because they cut a deal with England only, it cut off everyone who wanted to watch their team play against England.

England made the deal ignoring all the other unions because they wanted all the money and thought they were more important than anyone else, and they were wrong.

TNT and Amazon have recognised that subscriptions would only come from the UK, and there are 3 other countries involved in which I believe the six Nations is mandated to be on FTA television. Six Nations have sold the TV right in France for €100 million.

 

[dullonien]

Really?

I would never do it obviously, but TNT, premier sports and sky are easily accessible via pirate websites...

You overestimate how easy it is to pirate live tv. The sreams are often poor quality, laggy, intermittent, and riddled with endless popups.

It isn't an enjoyable experience, and no casual fan is going to watch that way!

 

[Rugbyfan564]

You overestimate how easy it is to pirate live tv. The sreams are often poor quality, laggy, intermittent, and riddled with endless popups.

It isn't an enjoyable experience, and no casual fan is going to watch that way!

And rugby is not football with streams available from numerous countries all showing a match live.

 

[dirty harry]

You overestimate how easy it is to pirate live tv. The sreams are often poor quality, laggy, intermittent, and riddled with endless popups.

It isn't an enjoyable experience, and no casual fan is going to watch that way!

Ummm...

Let's say I disagree, but don't want to discuss it further

 

[AlRums]

You overestimate how easy it is to pirate live tv. The sreams are often poor quality, laggy, intermittent, and riddled with endless popups.

It isn't an enjoyable experience, and no casual fan is going to watch that way!

I know someone who did