We consulted between 7 December 2021 and 7 January 2022 on requests from the BBC and ITV (on its own behalf and on behalf of STV) to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the Men’s Six Nations Rugby Union Championships for 2022, 2023 and 2024. The BBC and ITV sought our consent to broadcast live coverage of the Six Nations as follows: home matches of England, Ireland, France and Italy on Channel 3 (ITV, STV, UTV) and home matches of Wales and Scotland on either BBC One or BBC Two. In addition, the BBC has national radio rights for all the matches in the Six Nations.
The listed events rules are intended to ensure that certain events of national interest are available to view live, and for free, by the widest possible audience. The rules are established in the Broadcasting Act 1996 and require (among other things) that broadcasters obtain Ofcom’s consent to broadcast exclusive live television coverage of listed events.
Six Nations matches involving home countries are designated as listed events for the purposes of the listed events rules. As set out above, each match is to be broadcast exclusively by either the BBC or ITV (or, in central and northern Scotland, STV), except as set out below in relation to S4C’s coverage of matches involving Wales. Ofcom’s consent is therefore needed for the live coverage of the relevant matches. Our consultation set out that we were provisionally minded to grant consent, and noted that the BBC and ITV had provided information about the tender process for acquiring the rights to the relevant matches as evidence that other broadcasters had had a genuine opportunity to acquire the rights to the events on fair and reasonable terms. This is one of the matters which Ofcom's Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events (PDF, 71.2 KB) sets out that we will take into account when reaching our decision.
Ofcom received one response to the consultation, objecting to the proposed coverage. The respondent’s main concern was about the use of BBC funds to acquire broadcast rights to the relevant Six Nations matches without public consultation. Editorial and programme funding decisions are a matter for the BBC. Ofcom is unable to include consideration of the issues raised by the respondent as part of its assessment of the BBC’s request under the listed events rules. The BBC and ITV’s coverage plans secure that the relevant Six Nations matches are available to view live and for free by audiences across the UK, and we have therefore decided to grant consent to the BBC and ITV’s exclusive live coverage.
We also note that S4C has announced that it has reached an agreement with the BBC and ITV which will enable it to show Welsh language coverage of Six Nations matches involving Wales in 2022, 2023 and 2024. S4C’s coverage of these matches will not be exclusive as the relevant matches will also be broadcast in Wales by the BBC or ITV. For the purposes of the listed events rules, S4C is a “non-qualifying service”, while BBC One and BBC Two and the Channel 3 service are each “qualifying services”. This means that, in accordance with section 101(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1996, S4C does not require Ofcom’s consent for its coverage plans.