A private equity firm has reportedly agreed on a deal to buy a “significant” share of the Six Nations championship.
According to a report in The Times the Six Nations deal is worth more than £300m and would see CVC , who already own stakes in the Gallagher Premiership, acquiring 15% of the business.
Fans of F1 might remember CVC as the owners of the motorsport between 2006 and 2017.
The private equity company has gained an influence over European rugby that no outside organisation has ever had before. It owns a share of the Six Nations but also the autumn internationals and the summer tours, @owenslot reports #6Nations https://t.co/Y9Ejff7E9e
— Times Sport (@TimesSport) September 16, 2019
They took the sport from ITV to Sky Sports – with Bernie Ecclestone employed to run the business for them.
Bob Fernley, who was then deputy team principal of Force India, accused CVC during that time of “raping the sport”.
According to The Times a commitment will be made to retain free-to-air broadcasting for the Six Nations in some capacity.
But CVC’s motives are expected to be entirely financial, meaning it is likely, if not inevitable that some matches will move to paid-for-TV channels in future.
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