Rugby: BBC keen on winning back Six Nations

The BBC have pledged to recapture the exclusive live rights to England's Six Nations matches from Sky.

Sky currently show the England matches live, with ITV providing some delayed coverage, while the BBC show the majority of the rest of the Six Nations.

"We will be pitching for the live rights to the whole programme," said Pat Younge, head of programmes and planning for BBC Sport.

Peter Salmon, head of BBC Sport, promised "a lot of new motivation and new investment" would go into the BBC coverage.

Salmon added: "Who knows what the Six Nations contract will bring?

"Rugby union has been dedicated as one of the core sports by the BBC. We have brought British rugby at all levels to our viewers and have decided to give it a lot more impetus."

Younge continued: "In terms of cost per viewer, rugby is the most expensive sports contract we have.

"We want live coverage, live is everything. Fans would rather take live coverage on radio than delayed TV coverage anywhere else so the premium has to be live," he said.

As part of their commitment to the whole game, the BBC have announced plans to bring back Rugby Special, the magazine programme axed from the schedules in 1997. It will initially return on March 7 for a 12-week run.

Instead of a highlights-based Sunday afternoon programme it will be shown on BBC2 with a late night spot on Thursdays and will preview the weekend action as well as having a more incisive look at wider issues affecting the game.

Ireland captain and hooker Keith Wood and former Wales star Jonathan Davies will host the programme.