Six Nations rugby will be the first major sporting event to be shown on BBC iPlayer since its marketing-supported launch in December 2007.Sports fans who miss BBC's live coverage of the RBS Six Nations games, or just want to re-live the excitement, will be able to watch them on BBC iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer is the BBC's online on-demand service that allows viewers to catch up with programmes they have missed in the last week.Every single match in the championship will be available to watch via on-demand streaming for seven days after transmission at bbc.co.uk/iplayer.
BBC Sport's Head of Interactive, Ben Gallop, said: "We want viewers to be able to watch the best sporting action wherever and whenever they can, so getting the Six Nations onto BBC iPlayer is a major step forward. The Six Nations is a fantastic event and rugby fans can now catch up with the ups and downs of the championship at their leisure."
The 2008 Six Nations begins on Saturday 2 February and takes place over five weekends, finishing with Super Saturday on 15 March.The five-year deal was agreed with the Six Nations committee and covers the tournament from 2008 to 2012 inclusive.Every match will also be simulcast live on the BBC Sport website, with live text commentary available on all outlets, featuring statistics and score updates.
In 2007, BBC television audiences to the Six Nations were at their highest level for eight years – since the Five Nations became the Six Nations – with an average of 4.3 million watching each match. The highest peak audience was 8.0 million for the Ireland v England match.
