Asked about it on the fringes of a press conference on Thursday 15 January, Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez, managing director of France Télévisions, explained that selling the rights was not a matter of pleasure but a necessity imposed by the fall in public funding for broadcasting.

“It is the funding allocated to public broadcasting that allows us to make bids. We do not decide our own budget… It is a decision of reason, not of the heart” he said, stressing that this was a financial trade-off dictated by a “political decision, by a budget vote” rather than a sporting or strategic choice.

Under the deal, TF1 will broadcast nine matches of the 2026 edition, including two France fixtures – against Wales and Scotland – marking an unprecedented turnaround for the public group on this major event.

France Télévisions, which holds the Six Nations rights until 2029, specified that this sell-on was done “on an exceptional basis” against a backdrop of a wider savings plan, with the aim of making close to 15 million euros of savings on the sports side of its budget.

“Nobody is happy about this decision”

Sitbon-Gomez insisted, however, that the public group took no pleasure in the sale: “Selling on Six Nations matches is not something I chose, and there isn’t a single person at France Télévisions who is happy about it.” That much is clear. He also gave assurances that the most attractive fixtures would stay on France Télévisions channels and expressed the hope that this kind of transaction would not happen again in the years to come.

The reshuffle comes as the Six Nations partly overlaps with the 2026 Winter Olympics, which has weighed on the public broadcaster’s scheduling capacity and trade-offs.