Rugby's top nations forge new commercial alliance to increase broadcast revenue

Skip to content All News Sport Culture Lifestyle The new alliance would allow nations to increase their broadcast revenue to keep up with growing matchday and sponsorship revenues (Getty) The Six Nations and Sanzaar have established a new commercial organisation to pool and sell media rights for major competitions including the Six Nations, Rugby Championship, and Nations Championship.

The new company will be governed by a chief executive and a board comprising representatives from the 10 founding rugby unions across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney explained that aggregating broadcast rights is designed to significantly drive up TV revenue, which has lagged behind growing sponsorship income.

The 2028 Nations Championship finals will no longer be hosted in Qatar following the collapse of a sponsorship deal, with France, Spain, and England considering bids. Doubts over whether promotion and relegation will still be introduced in 2030 have exacerbated fears that top-tier nations are creating a closed elite in world rugby .

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