BT Sport’s emergence as a sports broadcaster and deep-pocketed rival to Sky
Sport, however, has since seen the value of rugby’s broadcasting rights
soar. Premiership Rugby signed a deal in 2012 with BT Sport to show domestic
and Europe games worth £152 million.

Asked if it was regarded as key for the tournament to remain on free-to-air
television, Feehan said that it was important “to look at what you are
trying to achieve out of the championship”. He said: “The
championship has never been healthier, it is in great shape and our
terrestrial broadcasters have been fantastic partners. But that being said,
they, like anybody else, have to be kept honest.

“We have developed the greatest championship in world rugby and the
reality is we need to ensure that we continue to generate revenues that can
fund and develop the game within the northern hemisphere. The Six Nations is
fundamental to that. Without the revenues that the Six Nations brings in,
most of the home unions probably couldn’t survive.

“So the reality is that this is an extremely important revenue stream and
broadcasting is an extremely important element of that revenue. So I don’t
think it is good enough just to say we wouldn’t consider every option.

“Clearly it has worked extremely well on free-to-air terrestrial and
clearly they continue to be interested in going forward and we will engage
very strongly with them.

“But it is an open market place and we need to keep that in mind.”

Under the Listed Events code, the Six Nations Championship, like cricket Tests
played in England and the Open Championship, is considered as a Category B
event. That means it can be shown on pay-TV provided there is sufficient
secondary coverage (such as delayed broadcast and highlights).

“As it [the Six Nations] is B-listed, even though it might be live on a
pay operator, it would also be shown very shortly after the final whistle on
delayed coverage on terrestrial, free-to-air anyway,” Feehan said. “So
it is not like it would be off the screen or anything like that.

“There are still three years left on this existing contract but there is
an ebb and flow. We talk to all the broadcasters all the time so it is not a
case of just pitching up one day and saying: ‘Hey boys, we are ready for
sale.’ It doesn’t work like that.

“It is an ongoing negotiation and discussion and sometimes that is
brought to a head and sometimes it is not. We will pick the right time when
we believe it is the best time to go to market.”

The only previous Six Nations games that have been shown on pay-television
were as a result of the Rugby Football Union’s controversial deal with Sky
Sports in 1996 which saw England briefly expelled from the championship for
breaching the collective bargaining agreement and then over a row over
distribution of funds to the other home unions.

At the time the then chairman of the Five Nations committee, the late Vernon
Pugh, said that it was the view of the unions that “the public have a
right to see the top rugby competition in the northern hemisphere, or at
least a very large part of it, shown live on TV without restrictions imposed
by satellite and pay-per-view”.

That five-year deal, to broadcast England’s home matches in the Six Nations,
expired in 2002 and the championship has since remained on the BBC.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the Rugby Football Union has turned down the
latest request by the Six Nations board to host championship matches on
Friday nights at Twickenham, although other venues are to host games in that
slot when the fixture schedules are announced next month for the next two
years.