France Clinches Back-to-Back Six Nations Titles Amid Record Viewership
France secured their second consecutive Six Nations Championship title on March 14, 2026, with a thrilling 48-46 victory over England in Paris. The match, a 13-try decider, captivated audiences across the UK and France, delivering significant viewership numbers for broadcasters ITV and France Télévisions.
Dramatic Finish Seals French Victory
Thomas Ramos’s last-second penalty kick proved to be the difference in a nail-biting encounter. The win marked France’s third Six Nations triumph in the past five years, following Scotland’s defeat to Ireland earlier in the day, which ultimately dashed the Scots’ hopes of securing their first title in 27 years. BBC Sport and AP News both reported on the dramatic conclusion to the match.
Record Viewership in the UK and France
The France-England match drew an average of 3.9 million viewers in the UK on ITV and its streaming service, ITVX, peaking at 5 million. This figure was close to the broadcaster’s highest peak audience of the tournament, which was 5.3 million for the Scotland-England match. ITVX also saw nearly 15 million streams across the 10 matches of the tournament, an increase from the previous year. Six Nations Rugby provides ongoing coverage of the tournament.
In France, public service broadcaster France Télévisions achieved an average audience of 8.02 million for the match, with a peak of 9.5 million viewers, representing a 42.5% audience share. This surpassed the previous most-watched match of the 2026 edition, which saw 7.5 million viewers for France’s win over Italy.
Broadcasting Rights and Future Outlook
ITV’s rights package for the Six Nations runs through 2029, and includes the option to air split-screen adverts during scrums. France Télévisions also holds domestic rights through 2029, and recently entered a sub-licensing deal with TF1 for coverage of nine games, including two featuring France. The opening game of the 2026 tournament, France versus Ireland, delivered a record 7.24 million viewers for France TV.
The 2027 Men’s Six Nations Championship is scheduled to run from February 5 to March 13, beginning with a Friday night match between Ireland and England and concluding with a match between Ireland and France.