M6 is ready to go into the fray. Nicolas de Tavernost, the chairman of the group's executive board, said on Monday morning on BFM Business that he was going to join the ranks in order to broadcast part of the next Rugby World Cup to be held in France in 2023.
“ We are waiting, with a little impatience, for the call for candidates to be launched. We wrote to know when it would be launched and we had the answer that it would be in the fall, ”explained the manager. " We will certainly be a candidate in the fall for at least one of the lots that will be proposed for this World Cup, " he continued.
For the M6 group, this would be a first. In France, previous editions of this competition have already been broadcast on France 2, Canal +, Eurosport and especially TF1. Last year, the Bouygues subsidiary was even the only broadcaster of the 48 matches of the World Cup organized in Japan, with however mixed audience scores. The TF1 group paid between 33 and 35 million euros to broadcast the entire competition and did not cover their costs.
The intentions of TF1 and France Télévisions unknown
The next edition of the Mondial de rugby being planned in France, it is becoming very special and more attractive for the big PAF chains. Last December, Nicolas de Tavernost had already put forward the hypothesis of a candidacy, assuring that he had "the necessary savings". On BFM Business, he said he was "very attentive to the money" invested by the group in sport.
In order to rationalize costs, M6 has thus joined forces with TF1 to co-broadcast 23 Euro 2020 football matches. The scenario will not necessarily repeat itself on the rugby field. For the time being, TF1 has still not revealed its intentions. But the traditional broadcaster of the competition since 2007 " looks at the file with attention ", says a source close to the file. Another unknown, the entry or not of France Televisions in the fray.
