RTÉ Sport has revealed details of its comprehensive coverage of this year’s RBS 6 Nations, kicking off with Friday night’s launch of the tournament as Wales host England at the Millennium Stadium.
Ireland’s 2011 campaign will see their home fixtures against France and England take place in the new Aviva Stadium for the first time, with RTÉ bringing fans all the action live.
RTÉ Sport will deliver extensive coverage of the RBS 6 Nations 2011 including:
All 15 matches across the five weekends of the tournament broadcast live on RTÉ Two television.
All of Ireland’s matches broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1, FM, LW, DAB and online.
All 15 matches streamed live on RTÉ.ie within the island of Ireland.
Web-only Rugby Extra programmes at RTÉ.ie/sport available worldwide.
RTÉ’s coverage of the RBS 6 Nations always captures the imagination of the Irish public, with the tournament featuring three times in the Top 10 sports programmes watched in Ireland last year.
RTÉ Head of Sport Ryle Nugent confirmed details of the coverage, saying: ‘The RBS 6 Nations is one of the Irish public's favourite sporting events and RTÉ is once again delighted to offer the public such a comprehensive range of coverage across all of our platforms.
‘We constantly strive to deliver the big competitions to the widest possible audience and with coverage across RTÉ Television, RTÉ Radio, RTÉ News, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Mobile and Aertel we are also offering greater choice and flexibility to sports fans.’
RTÉ’s team of presenters and panellists will be providing expert analysis and opinion at every stage of the tournament.
On RTÉ Two television, anchorman Tom McGurk will be joined by George Hook, Brent Pope, Conor O’Shea, Donal Lenihan, Victor Costello and Frankie Sheahan, while Tracy Piggott will be reporting from the sidelines.
Commentary will come from Ryle Nugent, Tony Ward, George Hamilton, Ralph Keyes and Hugh Cahill.
Joanne Cantwell returns each Monday with a brand new series of Against the Head, where she will be joined for the first time by former Ireland international Girvan Dempsey alongside Victor Costello, Frankie Sheahan and Gerry Thornley for a lively mix of interviews, news, analysis and discussion.
Further to the RTÉ Television’s extensive live coverage of the tournament, there will also be live coverage of Ireland’s Under-20 clashes against France, Wales and England on RTÉ Two.
RTÉ Radio will provide comprehensive RBS 6 Nations coverage across all wavelengths, on FM, LW, DAB and online.
RTÉ Radio 1’s Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport will provide live coverage and analysis on all five of Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations matches with simultaneous broadcasts on digital and online platforms.
Michael Corcoran and Donal Lenihan will be joined by Emmett Byrne, Victor Costello, Conor McGuinness and Jim Glennon for quality insight throughout the tournament.
Regularly scheduled bulletins will bring listeners all the latest RBS 6 Nations stories, while Sport At 7 will keep a close eye on the competition from Monday to Friday. RTÉ 2fm’s Ballbusters will preview all the action in its own inimitable style on Saturday style.
RTÉ.ie has all the angles covered for the 2011 RBS 6 Nations at www.rte.ie/sixnations.
With an in-depth focus on Ireland’s campaign, the site will feature live text match commentaries, a fantasy league, live and on-demand video and audio, interactive player ratings, and incisive debate and analysis from Conor O’Shea, Brent Pope, George Hook, and Brendan Cole.
All 15 RBS 6 Nations matches, plus Ireland’s Under-20 matches, will be streamed live within the island of Ireland.
There will also be live web-only coverage of the Under-20 encounter between Ireland and Italy on Friday, 4 February.
Ireland fans all around the world can follow the action as it happens with live commentary on all of Ireland’s matches from Michael Corcoran on RTÉ Radio 1.
Rugby fans all over the globe can get involved in RTÉ.ie’s web-only Rugby Extra programmes, where the studio panel will analyse all the action and answer emails.
RTÉ Sport’s RBS 6 Nations programming will be available on-demand on the RTÉ Player to users on the Island of Ireland; users worldwide will be able to access the web-only Rugby Extra programmes on the international version of the RTÉ Player.
Six Nations stories, fixtures, live scores, results and more will also be available on RTÉ Aertel and RTÉ Mobile at www.rte.ie/sport.
RTÉ Sport’s RBS 6 Nations coverage across television, radio and online will be sponsored for the first time in a new cross-platform deal by Ulster Bank.
The sponsorship will feature alongside a new club volunteer initiative, Ulster Bank Rugby Force, which will be visible across RTÉ Television, RTÉ Radio, Outside broadcasts with the RTÉ 2fm Roadcaster, RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ Guide over the coming months.
