ITV confirms major new international rugby deal ahead of Six Nations

The first two editions of rugby’s new Nations Championship will be shown free-to-air on ITV in the United Kingdom after the broadcaster struck a significant new deal.

ITV renewed its deal as the primary broadcaster of the Six Nations last year and has now moved to secure the rights to the new competition, which will launch in July.

Operated by the Six Nations and Sanzaar, the Nations Championship will pit the six top European sides against the four Rugby Championship teams plus Fiji and Japan, culminating in a finals weekend at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium in November.

Every game in the 2026 and 2028 tournaments will be live across ITV’s channels, while the broadcaster will also show the warm-up fixtures ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup and international action in 2029.

“This is a landmark deal for ITV Sport in securing the future of free-to-air rugby coverage for a UK audience,” Niall Sloane, ITV’s director of sport, said.

“With a minimum of 124 international matches in the coming four years, we look forward to showcasing the very best of global rugby to enable the game to grow."

ITV is believed to have beaten TNT Sports to the UK television rights. TNT had shown the last two editions of the Autumn Nations Series, and expressed interest in the competition.

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The deal follows an expansion of ITV’s Six Nations deal and means every England international until the World Cup will be shown live by the channel. It is likely that ITV also renews its agreement for the major tournament.

The decision to broadcast the Nations Championship is fascinating in a summer in which ITV will also show the Fifa World Cup. England open their campaign against world champions South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July, on the same weekend on which the football Round of 16 begins.

Steve Borthwick’s side, Wales and Scotland play the Springboks, Fiji and Argentina in July, before hosting New Zealand, Australia and Japan in November. For Ireland, France and Italy, the schedule is reversed, with home games against the latter three nations in the autumn.

ITV has also extended its deal with Prem Rugby to show seven live games a season by a further two years.