Pro14 chief executive Martin Anayi has said that the European club rugby union competition could seek an exclusive rights partnership with a subscription-focused broadcaster to maximise revenues.
The competition, formerly known as the Pro12, recently expanded with the addition of South African Super Rugby franchises the Cheetahs and Southern Kings for its 2017-18 season.
The league currently has a deal covering the UK and Ireland with pay-television broadcaster Sky which is due to expire after the 2017-18 season. It also has multiple free-to-air deals across the UK and Ireland.
The Pro14 is keen to bridge the revenue gap to rival top-tier leagues in England (the Premiership) and France (the Top 14).
When asked if there would be a major change to the competition’s rights model in 2018, Anayi said, according to sports news website The42: “The most important thing is we allow our clubs to be competitive on the pitch and that means you have to generate as much revenue off it and that’s through fans coming through the gate and also from television and sponsorship.”
He added: “It’s working, what we’ve created is a tournament with a renewed vigour and we’ve got five tier-one nations in it to ensure there are more international players that are coming through and it is competitive. The sponsors and the broadcasters have reacted well to that.”