CVC's investment in Six Nations and Pro14 still up in the air - report
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The planned £420 million investment into the Six Nations and PRO14 has yet to be sealed, according to report b inews.co.uk.
Private-equity firm CVC have been locked in talks to plough money into the game since Septemeber last year with £300m going to the Six Nations which in turn could be moved to pay-per-view television.
The remaining £120m would give CVC a major stake in the PRO14, with the rugby unions in Wales, Ireland and Scotland to benefit. A Six Nations spokesperson told iNews on Thursday “discussions are ongoing” with CVC, as sources close to the deals confirmed neither has yet been signed.
The rugby financial landscape has changed, of course, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. While there have been questions asked in Parliament demanding the Six Nations remains on free-to-air TV, but the Government have declined to place the competition on the Category A list of events which would guarantee that. These include the Olympics, football World Cup and FA Cup final.
The Six Nations announced in February they had pooled their media rights from next season, but with negotiations slowing amid the pandemic, and World Rugby yesterday admitting to “a worst-case scenario, where no international rugby is possible this year”, England, Scotland and Wales have no TV deal in place for this autumn.
World Rugby have since made a package of loans and advances available for cash-strapped unions to apply for, and the global governing body’s chairman Sir Bill Beaumont spoke positively of “a potential blueprint for successful collaboration in the future”.
