Today’s post is about the Six Nations rugby tournament, which to date has been great. The game I enjoyed the most this year – France versus Wales - which was even better than England beating the Irish. The England/Wales game takes place this weekend and I am very much looking forward to it.
But the Six Nations is under threat, Coronavirus has seen the remaining Italy games postponed and it is quite possible that the tournament won’t actually get completed at all this year.
And if the virus wasn’t bad enough, the long-term prognosis is even worse. There is the possibility that from 2021, the games might not appear on the BBC & ITV. The news shared on the BBC – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51704956 - on Monday this week was depressing to read.
There is every chance that the Six Nations will end up behind a pay per view barrier.
For me, that will kill it and, in my opinion, P.P.V. TV will knock off a far greater proportion of viewers than Coronavirus will bump off those that catch the bug.
I have written before about the impact that a similar barrier has had on my love and enjoyment of Formula 1. Last year I only watched the British Grand Prix, the other races I just read about the results later. I accept that the highlight shows on Channel 4 were available, but watching those was pointless once the race results were already public. Bearing in mind that for the previous 20 years, I had watched more than 90% of the live races, the change in viewing behaviour was stark.
It’s not just F1, back in my youth, boxing was shown on terrestrial TV (admittedly there was nothing else available at the time). Watching Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno or Barry McGuigan fighting was a treat. These days despite the British boxing scene being more exciting than ever, the only thing I ever see are a few post-bout photographs. I’d have loved to watch Tyson Fury beat Deontay Wilder, but there was no chance I’d pay the viewing fees.
If the Six Nations ends up on Sky, I’ll probably never watch another game at home, which would be a damn shame.
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But the Six Nations is under threat, Coronavirus has seen the remaining Italy games postponed and it is quite possible that the tournament won’t actually get completed at all this year.
And if the virus wasn’t bad enough, the long-term prognosis is even worse. There is the possibility that from 2021, the games might not appear on the BBC & ITV. The news shared on the BBC – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51704956 - on Monday this week was depressing to read.
There is every chance that the Six Nations will end up behind a pay per view barrier.
For me, that will kill it and, in my opinion, P.P.V. TV will knock off a far greater proportion of viewers than Coronavirus will bump off those that catch the bug.
I have written before about the impact that a similar barrier has had on my love and enjoyment of Formula 1. Last year I only watched the British Grand Prix, the other races I just read about the results later. I accept that the highlight shows on Channel 4 were available, but watching those was pointless once the race results were already public. Bearing in mind that for the previous 20 years, I had watched more than 90% of the live races, the change in viewing behaviour was stark.
It’s not just F1, back in my youth, boxing was shown on terrestrial TV (admittedly there was nothing else available at the time). Watching Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno or Barry McGuigan fighting was a treat. These days despite the British boxing scene being more exciting than ever, the only thing I ever see are a few post-bout photographs. I’d have loved to watch Tyson Fury beat Deontay Wilder, but there was no chance I’d pay the viewing fees.
If the Six Nations ends up on Sky, I’ll probably never watch another game at home, which would be a damn shame.
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