The Calcutta Cup has been a staple of the BBC’s Six Nations coverage for years but has now been moved to a different channel
The Calcutta Cup has come around again with England and Scotland set to do battle at Murrayfield in the latest instalment of the historic Six Nations fixture.
After four years of Scottish dominance, Steve Borthwick’s side stole the cup back last year and are heavy favourites to make it two in a row as they head to Edinburgh on Saturday. While Gregor Townsend’s side slipped up against Italy on the opening weekend, Borthwick’s men kicked off their Six Nations campaign with a dominant 48-7 victory over Wales to make it 12 wins in a row.
Viewers tuning in to watch the action from Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon may expect to do so on the BBC, with the rights to all of Scotland’s home games long being held by the broadcaster.
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However, rather than the rugby, they will be met instead with Final Score, with Scotland v England moving channels as part of a new broadcast agreement.
The deal, which was agreed between BBC and ITV last year, means that coverage of the championship will remain on free-to-air television until 2029, amid suggestions that subscription channel TNT Sports were interested in securing the broadcast rights.
However, it has also seen ITV secure the rights to the Calcutta Cup, which has previously been one of the highlights of the BBC’s Six Nations coverage.
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Under the terms of the agreement, ITV will continue to broadcast the lion’s share of matches, showing two out of three fixtures every weekend for a total of 10 games across the course of the championship.
As has been the case in recent times, the BBC will continue to air five, with this number traditionally amounting to both Wales and Scotland’s home fixtures.
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However, the new agreement saw the corporation give up the rights to show those home fixtures when either Wales or Scotland are hosting England, with ITV airing those games instead.
It means that ITV – who already show England, Ireland, Italy and France’s home matches – will have a clean sweep of matches involving Steve Borthwick’s side for the first time ever this year.
As an England home fixture, Wales’ visit to Twickenham last weekend was always going to be shown on ITV.
However, next year, the BBC’s Six Nations schedule will be missing Wales v England again, with that game also moving to ITV under the terms of the new agreement.
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