Sean Lynch scrum half for Birkenhead Park Rugby Club said: “I don’t think it will be great for the sport” when asked about TNT Sports deal with Six Nations being behind a paywall.
Speculations in the last few weeks have raised concerns in local Merseyside rugby Union clubs.
Rumours are circulating about a potential deal of TNT Sports buying the rights to the Six Nations from BBC and ITV in 2026.
This new deal could be worth up to £100 million which is £10 million more than the current deal with BBC and ITV.
TNT Sports already broadcasts the Autumn Six Nations Series in the UK racking up to 7.3 million viewers.
If this deal proceeds, it would mean the annual Rugby Union tournament would not be free-to-air.
Popularity of Rugby Union is quite low in the North of England as concerns grow amongst fans and local clubs about the possible impact it could have.
Lynch said: “Rugby union is not that big up here. We are already competing with football and Rugby League.
“You already look at the sports like football, its already all pricey and all the premiership games are already behind a paywall and most people you speak to don’t really watch them.
“Whenever the games are on, after we have a game here the club is always packed then obviously is good to get as many people as possible down.”
As Six Nations is currently live, the crowds have been growing more at local clubs.
Jack Parker, the forwards coach at Birkenhead Park Rugby Club said: “You automatically see that the clubhouse is humming on days where the Six Nations is on.
“The way rugby is going it needs money to survive so it kind of warrants being paid for in a way but at the same time the events of the Six Nations shouldn’t be behind the paywall.
“You are going to get a large subsection of the rugby community who are just not going to watch it or probably not pay for the subscription.”
[Featured Image courtesy of Fanny Schertzer under Creative Commons Licence]
