The British and Irish Lions confirmed that the '21 tour to South Africa will "go ahead as planned in July and August next summer." The eight-match fixture schedule "remains exactly the same as the schedule that was first published in early December last year." Due to the pandemic, the possibility "had been discussed of moving the whole tour to October and November." If the Lions tour of South Africa is able to proceed next summer, a "35,000-strong army of travellers is expected to migrate to South Africa for some of the games." The last Lions tour, to New Zealand in '17, "gave New Zealand Rugby an income swing" of £26M ($32.73M). The announcement comes as the Lions are the "next rugby property in the sights of CVC Capital Partners." The private equity firm is "expected to conclude its biggest deal to date in the next few weeks, when it takes a share of the Six Nations." When that is done, it is "expected to seek to do a deal with the Lions" (LONDON TIMES, 7/15). Sky Sports will exclusively show the British & Irish Lions' three-Test series against the Springboks, as well as their five warm-up matches. This agreement means Sky Sports will show its seventh successive Lions tour, a partnership that will enter its 25th year in '21 (SKY SPORTS, 7/15).
Meanwhile, because of the pandemic, it is understood that the offer from CVC for a shareholding in the Six Nations "will be significantly reduced." At the start of March, both parties "had hoped to complete a deal which would have resulted" in the private equity firm buying 14.5% of the Six Nations for €330M ($415.3M). Negotiations were then "suspended and upon their resumption, CVC has reportedly reduced this offer by half," to €165M ($207.7M) (IRISH TIMES, 7/15).
