UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport has submitted a multi-million-pound bid to acquire rights for the Scottish national rugby union team’s Autumn Test series, according to the Daily Mail newspaper.
Financial details of the offer were not disclosed, but the newspaper said the BT proposal is worth more than the amount put forward by UK public-service broadcaster the BBC.
The BBC’s two-year exclusive rights deal with the Scottish Rugby Union expired last year and the sport’s national governing body is yet to sign a new agreement.
Scotland will face off against Australia, New Zealand and Samoa in November.
The newspaper said the SRU is likely to favour a deal where matches would be shown by both the BBC and BT Sport. The report added that if this were the case, then BT Sport would reduce its bid.
However, the newspaper also said SRU officials are confident they can reach an agreement with BT Sport, whose parent company, telco BT, currently serves as the main shirt sponsor of Scotland’s national rugby union teams. The three-year deal began in the 2015-16 season and runs to 2017-18.
BT also sponsors Scotland’s two professional clubs, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, and the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.