BBC iPlayer To Show First Major Sporting Event
The Six Nations rugby tournaent, which starts tomorrow, will be the first major sporting event to be shown on BBC iPlayer since its marketing-supported launch in December 2007.
The BBC iPlayer is the BBC’s online on-demand service that allows viewers to catch up with the past week’s programmes.
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.
Ben Gallop, BBC Sport’s head of interactive, 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 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.
Figures recently released by the BBC revealed that over 3.5 million programmes were streamed or downloaded on demand on the iPlayer in the fortnight following its Christmas day marketing launch (see 3.5 million Programmes Watched On BBC iPlayer At Christmas).
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