Losing Six Nations from free-to-air TV could be a ‘real challenge’ says England captain Owen Farrell

The BBC and ITV’s current rights deal for the international championship runs until 2025.

Director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater has warned that the increase costs of broadcast rights and a 30 per cent fall of income could see Six Nations lost from terrestrial television, and Farrell fears that prospect could be a “real challenge” for the sport.

The Telegraph also reports that the Six Nations could be sold alongside a new world league as part of a bundle package, with the UK government rejecting calls to protect Europe’s annual men’s international competition.

Orrell-born Farrell recently told The Guardian: “This is the first I’ve heard about it, but I’ve obviously heard about it in the past when it has come up before.

“I don’t claim to understand what it would do for rugby, what it would do for the tournament or for the nations involved, in terms of the knock-on effect for how many viewers it has, but if it is significant in terms of viewers then yes, that’s going to be a real challenge.”

Slater, who will retire from the BBC next year, had told the culture, media and sport select committee: “We need a well-funded BBC if we are going to be able to continue to afford sports rights.

“Sports rights in the UK have more than doubled in the past decade.

“BBC’s income in real terms has gone down 30%.

“It is incredibly difficult for the BBC to maintain, across a range of sports, the expectations of those governing bodies.”