UK-based rugby viewers have become used to channel-hopping between BBC and ITV to keep up with the Six Nations. For at least the next four years, however, England fans can keep their remote controls pointed at the commercial broadcaster, as all five of the matches played by Steve Borthwick’s men will be live and exclusive on ITV.

This will be the first time ITV has held the rights to a clean sweep of England matches, and is the result of the latest big-money broadcasting deal for the beloved championship. Read on to find out more…

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What is the new Six Nations broadcast deal?

Before the previous broadcast deal expired in 2025, many commentators speculated that the Six Nations’ next arrangement might take the championship behind a paywall – it is, after all, one of the crown jewels of rugby, a competition that more-or-less guarantees millions of viewers every year.

But despite rumoured interest from subscription service TNT Sports – already the television home of the Autumn Nations Series and the Gallagher PREM – the BBC and ITV joined forces to secure the rights for another four seasons. The new deal they announced in March 2025 will keep the tournament on free-to-air terrestrial TV until at least 2029.

This continues a match-sharing agreement that’s effectively been in place since 2017, though the structure of the deal has changed slightly for this season.

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So why are all of England’s Six Nations games on ITV?

Under the terms of the new deal, ITV are very much the senior partners for the Men’s Six Nations, showing 10 matches to the BBC’s five. The basic arrangement means that every England, France, Ireland or Italy home Six Nations fixture will be broadcast by ITV. Scotland and Wales home matches, meanwhile, will be shown by the BBC – unless they involve England.

Hence, Scotland’s Calcutta Cup game against England at Murrayfield on 14 February will be on ITV. Meanwhile, their Stadio Olimpico opener against Italy on 7 February will be on BBC, ensuring the broadcaster doesn’t end up with a fallow opening weekend.

It’s easy to see why England games are so important to ITV. As a commercial broadcaster, ITV will be looking to advertising to help them recoup their investment – as the largest of the home nations, England and its supporters have the potential to deliver the biggest audience and subsequently the highest ad revenue.

How does this compare to previous TV agreements?

From 2022-2025, the BBC and ITV shared matches on a similar 10/5 split, with all England, France, Ireland and Italy home matches on ITV, and all Scotland and Wales home matches on the BBC.

From 2017-2021 there was a more 50/50 arrangement, with all England, Ireland and Italy home matches on ITV, and all France, Scotland and Wales home matches on the BBC.

From 2002-2016, the BBC had exclusive rights to the Six Nations, as they had throughout most of the Five Nations era. There was a bizarre arrangement in place from 1998-2001, however, when the RFU agreed its own deal for England home matches to be aired exclusively by subscription broadcaster Sky Sports.

Does the BBC have any other rights to make up the Men’s Six Nations shortfall?

Yes. As it has in previous years, the BBC will continue to offer exclusive TV/online coverage of both the Women’s Six Nations and the Under-20s Six Nations. The Beeb will also broadcast live audio commentary across various platforms, including radio, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website and app.