The 6 Nations Rugby Championship on BBC America

BBC AMERICA SIGNS EMBASSY ROW FOR RBS 6 NATIONS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

BBC AMERICA and Embassy Row announced today a deal for Embassy Row to produce live pre- and post-game shows as well as digital content around BBC AMERICA’s coverage of the RBS 6 Nations Rugby Championship, one of Europe’s biggest annual sporting events. The deal was signed by Perry Simon, General Manager, Channels, BBC Worldwide America, and Michael Davies, President, Embassy Row. 

BBC AMERICA starts its live coverage of the legendary tournament featuring the national rugby teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Wales and France facing off, on Saturday, February 5, 11:30 a.m. ET. The channel will broadcast five matches live over seven weeks, each wrapped with 30-minute live pre- and post-game shows. The shows will focus on key elements of the matches and feature interviews with celebrity guests including actor and avid rugby fan Billy Campbell (The 4400, Once and Again) and experts, field pieces and weekly awards.

In the lead up to the championship, Embassy Row will create digital content including videos and podcasts to be distributed online and at BBCAmerica.com.  The slate features recurring comedic and factual series such as Rugby 101 and a light-hearted comparison of American football versus rugby.  BBC AMERICA is also launching an aggressive outreach program to the rugby community including youth leagues, women’s leagues and BBC AMERICA-sponsored watch parties with hardcore fans at pubs across the country.

Perry Simon commented: “As part of BBC AMERICA’s new commitment to original programming and in recognition of rugby’s devoted and growing following in the U.S., we are pleased to take our broadcast and digital coverage of 6 Nations Rugby to the next level, and Embassy Row is the perfect partner for this initiative.  Beyond their major successes across multiple programming genres and platforms, Embassy Row has specifically delivered compelling and innovative content around sports including the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

Michael Davies, president of Embassy Row, added: “I have been a lifelong fan of rugby and grew up watching the BBC’s coverage of these matches. In fact, I watched every match broadcast by BBC AMERICA last year. I am passionate about bringing this compelling sport to an even larger U.S. audience in addition to ex-pats like myself. I am inspired by BBC AMERICA’s recent commitment to original programming and am delighted to be a part of their plan.”

Embassy Row has previously worked with ESPN, ABC, Fox Sports and Versus creating content for television and the Internet. Michael Davies, president of Embassy Row, was instrumental in bringing the Emmy® Award-winning series Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? to U.S. television and recent credits include Watch What Happens Live, The Newlywed Game, Wife Swap and content for ESPN’s 2010 FIFA World Cup coverage.

As BBC AMERICA prepares its second year of broadcasting the 6 Nations Rugby Championship, the channel is looking to expand how it engages with rugby-loving audiences. Along with the Embassy Row partnership, stay tuned for an announcement next week regarding an exciting new partnership with location-based mobile platform Foursquare as well as a marketing campaign with Bottle Rocket Marketing Group.

SCHEDULE

2010 Champion France vs. Scotland (in Paris)

Saturday, February 5, 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT - Pre-show 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT 

Scotland vs. Wales (in Edinburgh)

Saturday, February 12, 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT - Pre-show 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT 

England vs. 2010 Champion France (in London)

Saturday, February 26, 12:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 a.m. PT - Pre-show 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT 

Calcutta Cup - England versus Scotland (in London)

Sunday, March 13, 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT - Pre-show 10:30 a.m. ET / 7:30 a.m. PT 

Millennium Trophy - Ireland versus England (in Dublin)

Saturday, March 19, 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT - Pre-show 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT 

BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsey, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. Owned by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including an Emmy, four Golden Globes and ten Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable’s most affluent and educated audiences and is available on digital cable and satellite TV in more than 68 million homes.  It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.bbcamerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.

Embassy Row, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is a New York City-based global format and digital production studio dedicated to developing cutting-edge original concepts and the most creative international formats for television networks, online and wireless distribution in the U.S. and around the world.