England's highly anticipated Nations Championship opener against world champions South Africa this weekend is set to be moved to ITV4, with the broadcaster instead focusing on its FIFA World Cup coverage. The match, scheduled for Saturday in Johannesburg, is the most eye-catching tie of the opening round of Test rugby's new £500m competition. However, despite delivering blockbuster moments in recent times, coverage of the match will not take precedence on ITV's main channel.
Match Details and Scheduling
Earlier in the day, the Nations Championship clash between Fiji and Wales at Cardiff City Stadium will be shown on ITV1 (kick-off 2:10pm), but the England match will not follow on the broadcaster's main channel. Instead, as things stand, their clash with the Springboks will be shown on ITV4, with coverage starting just 20 minutes before the game kicks off at 4:40pm BST. Over on ITV1 at the same time, Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals will be shown, followed by national and regional news broadcasts. Coverage of the World Cup round of 16 clash between Canada and Morocco will then begin on the channel at 5:15pm, ahead of its kick-off in Houston at 6pm BST.
ITV's Scheduling Flexibility
The Telegraph reports that ITV are understood to be open to late schedule changes, but the England rugby match is set to be shown on ITV4 as things stand. The move has led to fears that the inaugural weekend of the major new competition will start on rather underwhelming terms, with the Springboks already struggling to sell tickets for Saturday's match at Ellis Park. Reports from South Africa claim that the 61,000-capacity ground could well be around half-full this weekend, with the South African Rugby Union hoping for a late surge in sales but admitting that the stadium is unlikely to reach capacity.
Free-to-Air Access for Rugby Fans
While there are concerns over the move to ITV4, a source told The Telegraph that fans will still have "unprecedented" free-to-air access to Test rugby. "ITV is arguably the home of sport for fans in the UK this summer, with the Nations Championship joining football World Cup coverage," the source said. "For the first time since the game turned professional, fans have unprecedented free-to-air access to international rugby, including every England fixture for the next four years on ITV. This level of exposure for the sport, and major investment stands to be transformational for rugby."
