It's not over Fred! Six Nations games set to return to RTÉ.

Losty Dublin · 10-05-2021 09:07AM #1

Literally just announced on the news. RTÉ and Virgin TV will be sharing coverage, to include some U 20 and Women's games to air on Virgin.

https://www.irishrugby.ie/2021/05/10/six-nations-enters-talks-with-rte-and-virgin-media/

Mav11 · 10-05-2021 09:25AM

Great news, I can stop having to watch it and listen to sh1te commentary on ITV or BBC, for the HD.

awec · 10-05-2021 09:42AM

This is good.

Never liked the VM coverage, can't stand listening to Quinlan, always used to watch the games on BBC if possible.

Dave_The_Sheep · 10-05-2021 09:48AM

Is that plank Daire O'Brien going to be involved? I sure hope not.

Inserted himself to have the last word on RTE's final coverage montage, ugh.

10-05-2021 09:49AM

Great news if the U20s gets proper coverage.

Cookiemunster · 10-05-2021 09:51AM

awec wrote: »

This is good.

Never liked the VM coverage, can't stand listening to Quinlan, always used to watch the games on BBC if possible.

Read it again. RTE and VM will be sharing the coverage. So half the games will still be on VM.

Subject to final contractual agreements, it is envisaged that all three Championships will be shared in a balanced way which will see RTÉ again broadcast games from the Men’s Guinness Six Nations, while Virgin Media Television will diversify its coverage to include the Women’s Six Nations and Men’s Under 20’s Championships for the first time

awec · 10-05-2021 09:53AM

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Read it again. RTE and VM will be sharing the coverage. So half the games will still be on VM.

Yes I know, but this is at least an improvement on all the games being on VM.

Hopefully between RTE and BBC I'll be able to avoid VM entirely.

roverjoyce · 10-05-2021 10:03AM

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Literally just announced on the news. RTÉ and Virgin TV will be sharing coverage, to include some U 20 and Women's games to air on Virgin.

https://www.irishrugby.ie/2021/05/10/six-nations-enters-talks-with-rte-and-virgin-media/

Who is paying for this?
If the other teams go PPV do they get to keep that money
Could be a huge loss for the IRFU

PMC83 · 10-05-2021 10:04AM

Is it just Ireland games or the lot?

scott1974 · 10-05-2021 10:07AM

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

Is that plank Daire O'Brien going to be involved? I sure hope not.

Inserted himself to have the last word on RTE's final coverage montage, ugh.

"Go Easy"....

kuang1 · 10-05-2021 10:09AM

So George Hook included?

Dave_The_Sheep · 10-05-2021 10:14AM

scott1974 wrote: »

"Go Easy"....

If only there was the opposite of a "Thank post" button.

Losty Dublin · 10-05-2021 12:12PM

roverjoyce wrote: »

Who is paying for this?
If the other teams go PPV do they get to keep that money
Could be a huge loss for the IRFU

TV and radio broadcasters pay for it themselves, with the monies going into the Six Nations Committee to be divvied up by them in their usual uneven basis.

Pay Per View coverage for events hasn't taken off in Europe and were always going to be a non runner for more than one reason. Even going with subscription or paywall TV coverage brings forward issues, which strengthens the hand of free to air TV networks.

ILikeBoats · 10-05-2021 12:15PM

Might get to hear this again!

https://youtu.be/E5L8zFL4GSI?t=30

bilston · 10-05-2021 12:18PM

roverjoyce wrote: »

Who is paying for this?
If the other teams go PPV do they get to keep that money
Could be a huge loss for the IRFU

I don't think these rights were the IRFUs to sell.

I think the 6Ns negotiate their TV rights as a collective. This would be the Irish TV rights. The UK, French and Italian TV rights would all be separate, but I think the money is split evenly.

It would be interesting if the UK rights when to Sky and Ireland fans in NI ended up having to pay more to watch the 6Ns. It's happened before with the Autumn Internationals.

Then again I'd be surprised if the UK rights to go to BBC/ITV again if that's what has happened with the Irish rights. For example Sky would surely have been going for the Irish rights as well as the UK rights.

Larbre34 · 10-05-2021 12:47PM

I can't detect from the coverage how long this deal is for, 2022 until......?

KaneToad · 10-05-2021 12:49PM

I hate that VM is in not in HD...unless you pay for a TV subscription. I would like to watch it but end up watching BBC or ITV for the HD.

Mav11 · 10-05-2021 12:51PM

KaneToad wrote: »

I hate that VM is in not in HD...unless you pay for a TV subscription. I would like to watch it but end up watching BBC or ITV for the HD.

Yeah, a bit like the Pro14 on TG4, saving the good stuff for those who pay a TV subscription. TV license money is not enough!!!

TRC10 · 10-05-2021 01:44PM

ILikeBoats wrote: »

Might get to hear this again!

https://youtu.be/E5L8zFL4GSI?t=30

What!!! That's by Hans Zimmer???

But the melody is the same as Ireland's call? Must just be a coincidence hence why RTÉ chose it.

icdg · 10-05-2021 02:47PM

It’s not Ireland’s Call, it sounds a bit like it but it’s actually the theme from the Kurt Russell firefighting movie Backdraft, “Fighting 17th”. Actually predates Ireland’s Call by four years.

Unfortunately it was very quietly dropped recently, think it was last used for the 2018 AIs.

Melodeon · 10-05-2021 02:55PM

KaneToad wrote: »

I hate that VM is in not in HD...unless you pay for a TV subscription. I would like to watch it but end up watching BBC or ITV for the HD.

This exactly! VM can feck right off until they implement HD on Saorview.

ILikeBoats · 10-05-2021 03:01PM

icdg wrote: »

Unfortunately it was very quietly dropped recently, think it was last used for the 2018 AIs.

Yeah I noticed it wasn't on the latest RTE coverage, I even tweeted RTE asking why, they never replied.
I love that music coming in and out of the ad breaks etc, reminds me of great Saturdays in pubs around Dublin

ionadnapóca · 10-05-2021 03:07PM

Melodeon wrote: »

This exactly! VM can feck right off until they implement HD on Saorview.

They are such b**tards. I vow never pay a cent to them.

Anyway I'm flat out against paying any subscription to watch sport.
The day the 6N goes behind a paywall will be the beginning of a slow but steady decline for rugby in Ireland.

ionadnapóca · 10-05-2021 03:09PM

ILikeBoats wrote: »

Might get to hear this again!

https://youtu.be/E5L8zFL4GSI?t=30

I can't believe i never realised that music was from Backdraft!!!

sprucemoose · 10-05-2021 03:20PM

ionadnapokot wrote: »

The day the 6N goes behind a paywall will be the beginning of a slow but steady decline for rugby in Ireland.

i'd wonder how true that would be if/when that were the case. think very similar things were said when the heineken cup left rte after the 2006 final and i dont think that had too much of an adverse affect. a large portion of the audience for 6N games are most likely the 'casual' rugby fan who probably would never watch a provincial game let alone get involved with their local club. Maybe the decreased exposure would have an effect on kids getting interested in the game if theyre not watching it

having said that i hope it stays FTA

ionadnapóca · 10-05-2021 03:41PM

I've read the pro's and con's and heard all the "grow the game"....money will filter back down to the grass roots bollix talk.
Simply put the more people that watch it the more the sport grows.
Particularly a minority sport i.e. Not GAA or Soccer

As for the HCup - The very fact that it was first on FTA was one of the most significant factors in creating the cultural movement here in Ireland to support the provinces e.g. Limerick and Cork club supporters fully invested in Munster.

sprucemoose · 10-05-2021 04:01PM

ionadnapokot wrote: »

I've read the pro's and con's and heard all the "grow the game"....money will filter back down to the grass roots bollix talk

i recall garrett fitzgerald among others saying at the time that if european games stayed FTA we would most likely start losing the majority of our top players as the money simply wouldnt be available to compete with english teams

ionadnapokot wrote: »

Simply put the more people that watch it the more the sport grows.

id agree in general, but we have a massive amount of fair-weather/casual fans who only follow the national team - soccer/gaa fans who watch the international games but would never actually play the game or go to a provincial match. the last rwc was a prime example of this, i knew large numbers of people who went but would barely be able to tell you which province most of the players actually played for.

ionadnapokot wrote: »

As for the HCup - The very fact that it was first on FTA was one of the most significant factors in creating the cultural movement here in Ireland to support the provinces e.g. Limerick and Cork club supporters fully invested in Munster.

im sure it played a role, but in fairness munster's history of performances against touring teams meant it always had a decent(ish) support

Larbre34 · 10-05-2021 04:37PM

ionadnapokot wrote: »

I've read the pro's and con's and heard all the "grow the game"....money will filter back down to the grass roots bollix talk.
Simply put the more people that watch it the more the sport grows.
Particularly a minority sport i.e. Not GAA or Soccer

As for the HCup - The very fact that it was first on FTA was one of the most significant factors in creating the cultural movement here in Ireland to support the provinces e.g. Limerick and Cork club supporters fully invested in Munster.

Absolutely right. In the early 2000s it was superb winter sports coverage to have on RTÉ.

Hopefully the Rugby powers that be have learned, from the Super League debacle in Football if nothing else, that there is a limit to which fans will tolerate the privatisation and commoditisation of their sport and that there is absolutely NOT limitless money in people's pockets to go PPV

icdg · 10-05-2021 09:08PM

ILikeBoats wrote: »

Yeah I noticed it wasn't on the latest RTE coverage, I even tweeted RTE asking why, they never replied.
I love that music coming in and out of the ad breaks etc, reminds me of great Saturdays in pubs around Dublin

It lasted a very long time - 14 years I think! Not sure why they’ve dropped it.

On a broader note interesting to see that the AIs weren’t included in this deal even though they have been centralised too. If I were a betting man, I’d now put money on BBC/ITV to retain the Six Nations rights in the U.K., and for Sky or Amazon (but probably not BT Sport) to go for the AIs (or Autumn Nations Series as the WRU at any rate seem to be referring to them).

Shaka Hislop · 10-05-2021 10:49PM

Liam Toland joining Virgin's commentary team for this would be heavenly

TRC10 · 10-05-2021 11:05PM

icdg wrote: »

It’s not Ireland’s Call, it sounds a bit like it but it’s actually the theme from the Kurt Russell firefighting movie Backdraft, “Fighting 17th”. Actually predates Ireland’s Call by four years.

Unfortunately it was very quietly dropped recently, think it was last used for the 2018 AIs.

I never said it was Ireland's call. I said in the snippet they used, the melody was the same as in Ireland's call

It's not over Fred! Six Nations games set to return to RTÉ.

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