[JACKLUFC1998]

So I assume the BBC games will be non-exclusive, unlike the C4 games which I don't think were shown on Sky.

I'm assuming it will also be similar to what ITV do with Premiership and Champions Cup rugby union matches.

[RhysJR]

ITV team for the Six Nations announced.

- It reads like Maggie Alphonsi will take Sir Clive Woodward's place on the England panel.

- No Martin Bayfield once again, Topsy Ojo looks like he will replace him as the reporter/pitchside presenter on England games.

- Gareth Thomas is also a long-term ITV name that is absent.

- Ugo Monye is named here, so presumably is not presenting Rugby Special for the BBC this year.

- New names are recently retired Wales 10 Dan Biggar and former Scotland international Johnnie Beattie, who is a familiar name on the world feed for the Six Nations and Top 14 and is based in France.

www.itv.com 

ITV announces 2024 Six Nations live line-up | The home of Rugby on ITV
Mark Pougatch and Jill Douglas lead a star-studded line-up of on-screen talent f…
  Source: www.itv.com

[Scratch_Perry]

Some more details of the upcoming rugby league season:

- The new streaming service Super League+ is set to launch on January 23. The Examiner article below says it will show every Super League game live. It is unclear whether Sky have two games exclusively each round.

- For the first 15 rounds of the season, every SL game will be shown on Sky Sports channels (example below).

- After that, Sky Sports is set to launch its own streaming platform/app, which will also be the home of their extra EFL games (and probably other extra streams like tennis I guess).

www.examinerlive.co.uk 

x.com 

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Confirmed here in an internal memo.

I'm surprised he has left tbh, because freelancing and appearing across multiple outlets is far from uncommon today. Another of today's signings, Mark Wilson, was on talkSPORT, Channel 4 and occasionaly Sky last season without issue for example, and was working for talkSPORT at Bolton tonight, so a good chance he isn't leaving there.

I guess Matt Newsum will be promoted to BBC #1. Maybe not neccesarily rugby league correspondent, as the likes of Mike Costello (athletics and boxing) and Roddy Forsyth (Scottish football) weren't succeeded in those titles when they have left recently. Matt doing two of England men's matches in the Autumn ahead of Dave was a possible hint that this has been on the cards for a few months?

x.com 

(Thanks to the @rugbyleagueontv Twitter account for flagging up both of those articles!)

Looking in from the outside, I agree that it is a surprise that Dave Woods is leaving the BBC, not just because we are in "the age of the freelancer, rather than the retainer", due to the fragmentation of individual event rights within a sport across broadcasters, but the fact that the BBC, reportedly, will be showing live Super League games this season.

Reading between the lines, I'm guessing that Sky have made him their de facto No.1 commentator (a la Peter Drury with their Premier League coverage), therefore he'll be behind the mic for the "big daddy games" such as Wigan v St Helens, Leeds v Wigan and other big games of that ilk, including the Grand Final.

As for Matt Newsum, he will be the BBC No.1 for now (though there are one or two people who suggest he's not good enough to be the BBC's top man. The fact that he commentated on the first two England internationals back in the autumn now makes sense; there was an inkling about Woods' long term future at the BBC.

[RhysJR]

Reading between the lines, I'm guessing that Sky have made him their de facto No.1 commentator (a la Peter Drury with their Premier League coverage), therefore he'll be behind the mic for the "big daddy games" such as Wigan v St Helens, Leeds v Wigan and other big games of that ilk, including the Grand Final.

That was my line of thinking too. Money the other obvious possible factor, but leaving the opportunity to cover England games and the Challenge Cup final for large FTA audiences would need some sort of big role like being Sky #1 you would imagine.

Looking in from the outside, I agree that it is a surprise that Dave Woods is leaving the BBC, not just because we are in "the age of the freelancer, rather than the retainer", due to the fragmentation of individual event rights within a sport across broadcasters, but the fact that the BBC, reportedly, will be showing live Super League games this season.

Possibly the BBC being the front runners for the live rights wasn't a consideration when this all began, with Channel 4 seemingly favourites according to reports in the autumn.

As for Matt Newsum, he will be the BBC No.1 for now (though there are one or two people who suggest he's not good enough to be the BBC's top man. The fact that he commentated on the first two England internationals back in the autumn now makes sense; there was an inkling about Woods' long term future at the BBC.

Personally, I don't mind Matt Newsum at all, I'm not sure why some don't rate him, but naturally opinions differ on most things. Sharon Shortle is the only other name to have done any national commentaries for the BBC in recent years (outside of the like of Mark WIlson and Andrew Voss coming over for the World Cups) so would be the only other name that could be in contention; she was on Radio York Sport a lot previously, though I don't know if her role has been affected with the latest round of local radio cutbacks.

[Brekkie]

ITV will be showing the Hexagon Cup, a Padel event in Madrid in February, with live coverage on ITVX and highlights on ITV4.

www.sportcal.com 

ITV to cover padel's Hexagon Cup in UK - Sportcal
The action will be live-streamed on the ITVX digital service, with a highlights …
  Source: www.sportcal.com

[RhysJR]

ITV will be showing the Hexagon Cup, a Padel event in Madrid in February, with live coverage on ITVX and highlights on ITV4.

www.sportcal.com 

A racket sport event shown on Eurosport with some live free coverage!!!

[TMD_24]

TNT Sports have signed a deal to show home India international cricket matches for the next five years including the upcoming series with England next week.

www.tntsports.co.uk 

How to watch England men’s cricket tour of India in 2024 on TNT Sports: Match sc…
TNT Sports will become the new official broadcast home of England men’s cricket …
  Source: www.eurosport.com

[RhysJR]

I read this as ITV will be presenting France v. Ireland, the opening game of the Six Nations, onsite in Marseille. Based on last year's MO I would have expected this match to presented from the green screen studio in Ealing. Good news if so. Will be interesting to see if Italy v. England the following day is presented from the studio.

NB France matches in this year's men's Six Nations are hosted in Marseille, Lille and Lyon due to Olympic preparations at the Stade de France.

twitter.com 

[Scratch_Perry]

TNT Sports have signed a deal to show home India international cricket matches for the next five years including the upcoming series with England next week.

www.tntsports.co.uk 

Good; common sense has finally come into play for the Indian cricket power brokers; do a long-term deal with a broadcaster which gives them guaranteed content for a number of years.

(This also mirrors the radio deal the BCCI have done with Talksport, although that's for one year less)

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I read this as ITV will be presenting France v. Ireland, the opening game of the Six Nations, onsite in Marseille. Based on last year's MO I would have expected this match to presented from the green screen studio in Ealing. Good news if so. Will be interesting to see if Italy v. England the following day is presented from the studio.

NB France matches in this year's men's Six Nations are hosted in Marseille, Lille and Lyon due to Olympic preparations at the Stade de France.

twitter.com 

Personally I'll be surprised if Pougatch et al will be doing the presentation of Italy v England from Ealing.

[RhysJR]

Viaplay Xtra closes next week.

The signs were there, with less content specific to that channel since the rebrand from FreeSports and the recent removal from Samsung TV Plus. Viaplay often needs more than two channels for its content, so pressure on Premier Sports' now, incoming streaming option to have additional streams etc. that Viaplay do offer I believe.

twitter.com