Reports today suggest the BBC and ITV have teamed up to keep the Six Nations on terrestrial television.
The British shadow sports minister, Labour’s Clive Efford has welcomed the news, saying: "it would be a “huge mistake” for the tournament to be limited to pay TV".
Efford said: “I welcome the BBC and ITV working together to ensure Six Nations stays on free to air television.
“It would be a huge mistake for another rugby competition to be put on subscription television, further limiting the exposure the sport gets, particularly to the next generation of potential rugby fans.
“If the Six Nations were to go to a subscription channel, politicians from all sides will inevitably be calling for the event to be A listed.”
The BBC has the current rights until 2017 which are reportedly worth £40m a year.
The deadline for tenders was last week and expectations that Sky – which currently has the rights to England’s autumn internationals – would win the rights outright did not materialise.
According to The Guardian, the BBC and ITV have teamed up in a bid to keep the tournament on terrestrial television.
That would please the Rugby Football Union, which sees value in the sport having a higher profile on terrestrial TV while Sky subscribers benefit via the autumn internationals on Sky.
The Celtic unions however are understood to be more open to seeing the tournament on Sky or BT Sport if it means more income for them.