FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 5th, 2017

NBC SPORTS GROUP ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE U.S. MEDIA RIGHTS TO SIX NATIONS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

Agreement Bolsters NBC Sports Group’s Rapidly-Growing Rugby Portfolio; Multi-Year Partnership Begins in February 2018

All Matches Live on NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s Direct-to-Consumer Live Streaming Product; Linear Coverage on NBC, NBCSN & CNBC

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 5, 2017 – NBC Sports Group has partnered with Six Nations Rugby on an exclusive multi-year U.S. media rights agreement for the Six Nations Championship, the world’s oldest and most prestigious rugby championship, both parties announced today. Per the agreement, which begins with the 2018 Six Nations Championship, NBC Sports will present comprehensive live coverage of all Six Nations matches across its digital and linear platforms.

The annual Six Nations Championship, which has roots that date back more than a century, consists of 15 matches played in a round-robin format between six teams – England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. All matches will stream live on NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product. NBC, NBCSN, and CNBC will combine to present linear coverage, and NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all linear coverage. Click here for more information on Six Nations coverage on NBC Sports Gold.

“Our multi-year partnership with Six Nations Rugby further establishes our commitment to the sport of rugby, one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports Group. “The Six Nations Championship is an iconic centerpiece of our robust rugby portfolio, which has featured the addition of exclusive U.S. media rights for the Rugby World Cup and Premiership Rugby in the past two years.”

“We are very excited to be working with NBC Sports Group on the broadcast of the Six Nations Championship in the USA,” said John Feehan, Six Nations CEO. “It is fantastic that Rugby’s Greatest Annual Championship will now be showcased on NBC Sports’ broadcast, cable, and digital platforms, which will allow us to bring it to a bigger audience in the USA.”

NBC Sports Group’s multi-year agreement with Six Nations Rugby adds to its already robust slate of rugby properties, which includes exclusive Olympic rugby coverage through 2032, the Rugby World Cup (both 7’s & 15’s) through 2023, and Premiership Rugby.


ABOUT SIX NATIONS RUGBY

The Six Nations Championship is held annually in February and March in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy. Since 2003, Average TV viewing of the Six Nations has increased by over 30% across the core Six territories (now over 125 million TV viewers annually). The Six Nations Championship is broadcast in over 180 countries globally, and over 1 million people attend the 15 games of the Championship annually.


ABOUT NBC SPORTS GOLD

NBC Sports Gold — NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product —launched in 2016 with a “Cycling Pass,” which included the 2016 Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Monument Classics such as the Paris Roubaix, and more. In addition to its “Cycling Pass,” which this season includes more than 25 races, earlier this year NBC Sports Gold expanded its offerings to include a “Track and Field Pass,” offering access to more than 25 major events; a “Rugby Pass,” including every Premiership Rugby match, select Women’s Rugby World Cup matches, and the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens; a “Pro Motocross Pass,” featuring the entire 2017 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship season; and a “Premier League Pass” giving fans in the U.S. exclusive access to 130 live Premier League matches plus the most robust offering of Premier League shoulder programming ever available in the U.S.; and an international “Notre Dame Football Season Pass,” giving fans in 13 international countries access to every home game during the 2017 season. Click here for more information.


ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP

When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, Formula One, IndyCar and many more.

-NBC SPORTS GROUP-