The former rugby footballer will no longer be commentating on men's Six Nations matches—with this upcoming Saturday's match being his last one. The sports presenter revealed that the reason behind his departure comes down to logistics involving the new BBC and ITV deal to continue hosting the Championship.
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A sad departure for Moore
Part of the new deal will see twice as many games are shown on ITV than BBC, with the latter only having rights to Wales and Scotland's home matches, leaving little room for Moore to contribute. In his column for the Telegraph newspaper, he shared:
It’s going to be an emotional day for me because, after about two decades of co-commentating on men’s Six Nations matches, Saturday’s will be my final one.I am sad about it, but that’s the way it goes. It’s a consequence of the way the rights have fallen.
And added:
With the recent broadcast deal announcement, and the BBC getting fewer games, and none of England’s home ones—plus any number of commentators and presenters to accommodate—it’s not easy. I can understand it. The BBC has a regional remit. So when they’ve got Scotland and Wales home games people want to hear from a local co-commentator.
As a result of this exit, the BBC's sports commentators this year will include Jonathan 'Jiffy' Davies, Chris Paterson, Andy Nicol and Dylan Hartley.
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Moore's media career
Following his retirement from professional rugby, Moore went on to supplement the BBC's rugby commentary team. In 2011, he became the lead co-commentator for the coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
He has also been writing weekly on rugby for The Daily Telegraph, and was shortlisted for Sports Journalist of the Year in the 2009 British Press Awards
