International rugby is taking an important step in its commercial strategy. Six Nations and Sanzaar have reached an agreement to jointly market their broadcasting rights and commercial deals, in an unprecedented initiative aimed at increasing revenue for the sport’s leading federations. The alliance will establish a new revenue-sharing model between the major powers of the northern and southern hemispheres.
Under the agreement, southern hemisphere nations will receive a share of the revenue generated by Six Nations and British & Irish Lions tours, while European federations will benefit from broadcasting and sponsorship deals generated by the Rugby Championship and the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, featuring New Zealand and South Africa. To manage this operation, a new commercial rights management agency will be established.
An alliance to strengthen international rugby revenue
The initiative expands on the model already used by the Nations Championship, whose commercial and broadcasting rights are sold collectively, with revenue distributed among its 10 founding members: the six Six Nations unions, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and Argentina. In this context, Fiji and Japan are also part of the competition, although they receive significantly lower participation fees than the leading nations. The 10 founding federations are now looking to extend this approach to international rugby as a whole, excluding the Rugby World Cup, in an effort to create new commercial opportunities in an increasingly competitive sports media market.
The new agency will be overseen by a 10-member board of directors and will supervise the commercial sales process. Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, explained that the objective is to establish a more efficient structure for negotiating agreements and increasing the commercial value of competitions. The strategy also represents an expansion of the so-called Project Light, through which the four Home Nations unions have jointly marketed the Six Nations’ rights since 2019.
New commercial agreements to take effect in 2028
The implementation of the model will take place in different stages. Sponsorship agreements and other commercial contracts will begin to be affected from 2028, the year in which the second edition of the Nations Championship will be held. However, existing broadcasting rights agreements will remain in place until 2029, meaning the new structure will not affect this market until the next commercial cycle.
From 2030 onwards, a particularly significant opportunity will emerge for international rugby, as the Six Nations, the Rugby Championship and the Nations Championship will be able to market their broadcasting rights collectively. Television networks will have the opportunity to acquire the rights to all three competitions through a global package, although customized options for individual tournaments will also be available. This format aims to increase competition among broadcasters and provide different negotiating opportunities in a market where the leading federations are seeking to strengthen the value of their sporting properties.
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