So yesterday it was announced that the BBC had failed to secure the rights to live Pro14 rugby next season (originally reported by BBC Wales, BBC Alba have also said it, seems inferred that BBC NI won't have it either though I've not heard from the horses mouth as of Wednesday afternoon). The rumour is that subscription channel Premier Sports have made a substantially larger offer. The reaction has been lively to say the least.

Who are Premier Sports?

I'd describe them as a very niche TV channel. I originally encountered them trying to watch State of Origin rugby league games. They used to be the place to watch NRL in the UK but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Their current lineup includes NHL hockey, NASCAR, GAA, Motocross, English Championship Rugby League and some osbcure soccer leagues. They also pick up the odd bit of sport that nobody else has, such as France's November rugby tests and this year's Tour Down Under.

As far as pricing goes, it costs £9.99 a month on SKY or Virgin Media, though with SKY I believe there is a £10 connection fee. It also has online access, including the last week of broadcasts on demand, for the same price. What seems to be getting very little attention is they also operate a freeview channel called Freesports. Until the full deal is public we won't know how much if all of the rugby will be behind a paywall.

So what's the problem?

Always, when you take something that was free to a paid model, people won't like it. It's very hard to convince someone that they should pay for something they had for free last week. Also, it being a new channel most people won't have already, it's even worse. As things stand, to see every game Ulster and Ireland play, I already need to spend £26 a month on BT Sport, a minimum of £18 for Sky Sports Action and now another £10 on top for the Pro14 games. £54 a month before you even take into account the cost of the basic Sky bundle is a lot of money. There's numerous ways to get the channels depending on your broadband provider but I don't think my route will be uncommon. This will undoubtedly lead to a fraction of the current viewership, but that might not be very important.

Sport's relationship with Television

First and foremost, professional sport is a business operation. The rights owners have to make money, or at least cover their costs. There's broadly speaking three things to take into account when selling tv rights:

Fanbase - in order to create demand for a product, there has to be a way to learn about it's existence. In rugby's case, keeping the Six Nations and the World Cup on free to air television is important for most of the unions, as it provides an entry point for people to become fans and even players of the sport. Cricket has suffered since 2005 in England, where all live coverage has moved to pay tv.

Exposure - A similar, but distinct concept. Any sport that benefits from major sponsorship deals to fund it's competitors (cycling, motorsport) rely on mass viewership to make the sponsorship viable in many cases. In most markets the Tour de France is live and free to air, which provides a huge platform for team sponsors to be seen by a global audience.

Money - Basically if the money offered by a broadcaster exceeds the value of the other two factors, it makes sense for the rights holders to sell to said broadcaster.

The case for the Pro14

To put it simply, the Pro14 is desperate for money. This was the driving force behind bringing in the South African teams. If Premier Sport are offering any significant raise it is in their interest to take the money. From a business perspective I struggle to see the downside, even though it's unpopular. It might lead to increased gate receipts as people will be less able to see it on tv. As harsh as it sounds, if you're neither going to go to games or pay to watch them on TV, you present very little value to the team you're a fan of. If the Pro14 thought this deal would significantly hamper their title sponsor Guinness, or the indiviual shirt sponsors of the teams, they wouldn't take it. They aren't trying to hurt their fans, they are trying to survive.