RTÉ Sport has confirmed it will broadcast over 120 hours of coverage of the 2009 RBS 6 Nations across RTÉ Two television, RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ.ie.
The competition is one of the most highly anticipated and most-watched international rugby tournaments in the world and proved a winner with the Irish public last year when it attracted an average of almost 600,000* viewers and an average audience share of 55%* for the Ireland games and over 1.4 million page impressions on the Six Nations section here on RTÉ.ie.
RTÉ Sport will provide comprehensive coverage of this year’s RBS 6 Nations across all of its platforms, including:
- All 15 matches across the five weekends of the tournament broadcast live on RTÉ Two television.
- All 15 matches will be streamed live on RTÉ.ie within the Island of Ireland.
- All of Ireland's matches broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1 on FM, LW 252, DAB and streamed live worldwide on www.rte.ie.
Glen Killane, Group Head of Sport, RTÉ, revealed: 'This year’s RBS 6 Nations on RTÉ promises to be the best ever for rugby fans with unrivalled coverage on Radio, TV, RTÉ.ie and News. The public will have more flexibility and choice than ever before with exclusively live U-20 internationals and catch-up services on RTÉ.ie added to our comprehensive coverage of the Six Nations.
The RBS 6 Nations is the world’s premier annual rugby event and we aim to ensure the Irish public are treated to the best possible standards in programming.'
Beginning with the opening live clash when England meets Italy on Saturday 7 February, RTÉ’s expert team of presenters, panellists and commentators will be on hand at each stage of the tournament to provide analysis, opinion, interviews and news.
Anchorman Tom McGurk will be joined on RTÉ Television by George Hook, Brent Pope and Conor O’Shea, while Tracy Piggott will be reporting from the sidelines. Commentary will be provided by Ryle Nugent, Tony Ward, George Hamilton, Ralph Keyes, Tony Clement, Gary Moran, Scott Hastings and Hugh Cahill.
Also on RTÉ Two television, Joanne Cantwell returns each Monday with a brand new series of Against the Head where she will be joined by Mark McDermott, Gerry Thornley and former Irish International David Corkery for a lively mix of interviews, news, analysis and discussion. Joanne will also present live coverage of Ireland’s Six Nations A matches.
RTÉ Radio Sport will have full coverage and top quality analysis of all of Ireland's matches with commentary from Michael Corcoran and former Irish international Donal Lenihan, as well as reports from every other RBS 6 Nations match.
Emmet Byrne, David Humphreys, Victor Costello, John Kelly and Conor McGuinness will also be on hand to provide expert analysis, insight and reaction. All of RTÉ Radio's commentary will be streamed live on www.rte.ie worldwide and on FM, LW252 and DAB.
Building on the success of last year’s site, RTÉ.ie will host a comprehensive Six Nations 2009 section with a significant multimedia offering. The Six Nations Media Player will offer users live streaming of all RBS 6 Nations matches, plus the best in analysis from RTÉ Sport’s George Hook, Conor O’Shea, Brent Pope and others.
Rugby fans will also be able to watch Ireland’s U-20 matches and Ireland’s Club International game against England exclusively live online, as well as A International matches.
The Six Nations site on RTÉ.ie will feature player profiles, team profiles, extensive match previews, player ratings, a Fantasy League, match galleries and exclusive columns from rugby analysts Conor O’Shea, Brendan Cole and Brent Pope.
* Source AGB Nielsen
