It's that time of year again and I'm exited to see what this years Six Nations has in store. But where to watch the games?
Well anyone familiar with the watching rugby stateside, its usually involves getting up at the crack of dawn, raid the local ATM, and head to the local pub to fork over a $20 cover charge. Even with all the upheaval at Setanta, that won't be change much this month. Through February 28th, Setanta will be broadcasting matches live on their Premium channel (accessible via the local bars or on Per Per View) and delayed on the regular channel. However, there is an added bonus this year in that BBC America has also decided to air a selection of games also. So what are your options?
Whatever happens with Setanta, you are guaranteed to see following 9 games before the potentially go off the air:
Sat 6th Feb - Ireland v Italy
Sat 6th Feb - England v Wales
Sun 7th Feb - Scotland v France
Sat 13th Feb - Wales v Scotland
Sat 13th Feb - France v Ireland
Sun 14th Feb - Italy v England
Fri 26th Feb - Wales v France
Sat 27th Feb - Italy v Scotland
Sat 27th Feb - England v Ireland
There is no news yet from Fox (who bought them) if they plan to broadcast the other 6 games. Most pubs locally are listing all 15 games and state they are showing them via Setanta, so the dreaded cover charge still applies.
For those lucky enough to get BBC America, you'll get the following 5 matches:
Sat 6th Feb - Wales v England
Sat 13th Feb - Ireland v France
Sat 27th Feb - Ireland v England
Sat 13th Mar - Wales v Ireland
Sat 20th Mar - England v France
Its not clear yet why they are't showing all of them, but we'll learn more about that soon enough. As BBC America is more accessible, I suspect we might start to see more bars showing games.
Where will I be? I usually frequent my local in Hoboken, Mulligans or head across the Hudson to the Red Lion. Both great rugby pubs and will be filled with local teams and supporters. Unfortunately, I'm sick as a dog, so I am going to ride it out from home by following the first game online and then settle in to watch Wales v England on BBC America.
I have reached out to a few bars for more information about games shown in March and I'll post an update as soon as I hear back.
UPDATE: Feb 6th
After speaking to my local bar, Mulligans, it appears that we can expect to see all the games in March at your local pub via the new guys running Setanta.
Where will I be? I usually frequent my local in Hoboken, Mulligans or head across the Hudson to the Red Lion. Both great rugby pubs and will be filled with local teams and supporters. Unfortunately, I'm sick as a dog, so I am going to ride it out from home by following the first game online and then settle in to watch Wales v England on BBC America.
I have reached out to a few bars for more information about games shown in March and I'll post an update as soon as I hear back.
UPDATE: Feb 6th
After speaking to my local bar, Mulligans, it appears that we can expect to see all the games in March at your local pub via the new guys running Setanta.
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