BBC to stream Six Nations match to outer space
February 5, 2016
By Colin Mann
The news that the BBC is to stream live coverage of Saturday’s Scotland v England RBS Six Nations match may not raise too many eyebrows, but the fact that will be doing so to British astronaut Major Tim Peake in the International Space Station is somewhat different.
Peake will be able to watch the game 400km above the earth as the BBC and European Space Agency feed the game to him live in the space station. A photo sent by Peake from the space station shows him getting into the spirit ahead of the game.
“We’ve always tried to push the boundaries of broadcasting at the BBC, and streaming to space is an exciting first for us,” declared Philip Bernie, Head of TV Sport for the BBC. “We knew Tim was a massive rugby fan and now he can join the rest of the nation watching Scotland v England in the Six Nations.”
“I know that space is a hostile environment, but Murrayfield, for the old Calcutta Cup, that’s a whole different matter,” said Peake. “And Scotland has a fire in their belly; you could hear their World Cup rage from up here in space… May the best team win! Come on England!”
“The RBS 6 Nations is watched by millions of people across the globe and this latest development is certainly a new and exciting one,” said John Feehan, Six Nations Rugby Chief Executive. “We are delighted that the BBC are able to bring all the action from the eagerly awaited Calcutta Cup clash between Scotland and England to keen rugby fan Tim and hope he enjoys all the action from the International Space Station