He spends his time generating revenues and brokering deals, but the chief executive of the Six Nations and British and Irish Lions is still a passionate rugby fan, writes Emmet Oliver

When does a job become a hobby or when does a hobby become a job? This is a question that John Feehan has probably asked himself more than a few times.

As chief executive of the Six Nations and the British and Irish Lions, he gets paid to think long and hard about his favourite sport but he also gets the opportunity to commercially develop and promote a major world brand.

As he acknowledges, there are many men would love to be sitting in his office in Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin.

However, he rejects the idea that he is a fan first and a commercially minded executive second. If anything, it's the other way around, he suggests.

"It is a wonderful job but it's like everything else - we have to achieve targets," he says.

A keen rugby player, his broad physique and wide neck suggest that he was a robust competitor. For a period, he played alongside current Irish Lions Shane Byrne and Malcolm O'Kelly.

Despite reaching inter-provincial level, he never won international honours and sighs that he "only" made it as far as Leinster.

While passion for your sport will get you so far, Feehan realises that, in an age of professional sport, passion is not enough.

Whatever the sheepskin-wearing purists think, leveraging your brand and maximising its commercial potential appears to be the name of the game.

However, Feehan says his role as chief executive of the Six Nations in particular needs to be seen in a broader context.

"Our remit is to do a couple of things. One is to develop the sport, two is to actually generate revenues and three is to look after the other aspects of the game and be a voice of the Six Nations.

"In other words, if the Six Nations has a joint policy platform, we would represent that platform to the International Rugby Board (IRB). So it's more than just revenue generation, we also look after doping and discipline issues, and the scheduling of the championship.

"We also run things like the technical committee. So it's more than just getting money in."

Despite this, a central part of his job is negotiating lucrative TV deals for the Six Nations with the various broadcasters, including RTÉ and BBC.

There are six rugby nations, but essentially five television markets - the British market, the Irish market, the French market, the Italian market and the overseas market.

A core part of his job is to get the best possible deal in these markets, although the overseas market is currently handled by an outside agency.

The deals with each market tend to be done at the same time. Currently, terrestrial and free-to-air broadcasters have the rights in Britain and Ireland in the form of BBC and RTÉ respectively. The deals are in place for the next four years.

"I have to say, RTÉ have been good partners," he says, but adds that the Italian TV market is now bigger than the Irish market.

He enjoys putting the deals together but admits that they take time.

"It can take up to a year to put a deal together," he says.

Thankfully, audience numbers are rising in Ireland, Britain and Europe.

While it is likely to raise the hackles of devotees of other sporting codes, Feehan says the ethos of rugby is attractive to sponsors, who dislike the undercurrent of spectator violence associated with other sports.

"You can go to a Manchester United game at the top end of the Premiership, the premium end. But do you want the sense of aggressiveness between the fans? The lack of camaraderie? The Six Nations in particular has a social interaction element to it which nothing else has.

"You've got to put yourself in the boots of somebody who is going to sponsor an event. They are going out trying to identify their brand with another brand, with a sports brand. What they are trying to do is get some of the positive benefits of that sports brand to positively shine on their brand," he explains.

He rejects the idea that English football has taken a more lucrative route by going with Sky, rather than BBC or other terrestrial broadcasters.

"I wouldn't say we settled for less revenue. We got a very satisfactory revenue outcome when we renewed our deal."

But he refuses to rule out talking with Sky in the future.

"Each of the unions are under a lot of financial pressure. Realistically speaking, they have to look at any deal on the table that boosts that position."

Pressed on whether the Six Nations would ever split the offering between terrestrial and satellite television, he says it could happen.

"It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can have a split audience. You can actually give certain games to one platform and other games to another."

Asked to sum up the current deals with BBC and RTÉ, he says: "It's worked for us at the moment and we are very happy with the way it's working at the moment."

However, Sky is not giving up on rugby and it holds the rights to the Heineken Cup and the autumn internationals for England.

Ironically, the British and Irish Lions tour is not a TV cash cow for Feehan and the unions he represents.

"Unfortunately, from our perspective, we don't get any money from media on that one. We are not the host union so it goes to the New Zealanders. The huge brand value of the Lions is one of the major issues we have to consider.

"Partly it's historical - the host union has always taken the benefit. For example, if New Zealand come over and play England or France, those countries benefit. So there is a kind of quid pro quo there," he states.

"But it will have to change. At the end of the day, we will have to get a fairer share because the Lions is so unique.

"It's not like England touring down there or Ireland touring down there or Wales or Scotland. The Lions is so unique that it brings so much extra value to the party, it will have to change," he asserts.

So, without any TV revenue coming in, sponsorship and licencing help to pay the Lions' costs, Feehan points out, but the finances are tight.

"The costs of a Lions tour have gone through the roof. Because you are now paying the management, the players, even insurance is an enormous cost. Because you are now insuring somebody's livelihood. Players don't share rooms anymore," he remarks.

Observers expect this year's tour to cost about €10 million, possibly more.

Feehan describes himself as being responsible for things "from A to Z" on the Lions tour.

He says he has been living with the tour for three years and a big part of his job has been lining up key sponsors. Zurich is the lead sponsor, but there are many others, including Adidas, Diageo, Powerade, Sure and NTL.

Asked about the level of interest in this tour, Feehan is quick to sum it up, saying more Lions jerseys are likely to be sold this year than Real Madrid jerseys.

Overall, Feehan is very confident about rugby's enduring appeal, although he has some reservations.

"It's very healthy at the moment but, obviously, there are still issues outstanding from the time it went professional - the amateur game and how it's structured and how it's looked after is still an issue. And each of the unions in turn are trying to make sure that's right."

But it's salad days for the professional game, he asserts.

"In England, the Premiership has got record crowds. When Leinster played Leicester, there was a really full Lansdowne Road, when did that ever happen for a club or inter-provincial game? Our television audiences for Six Nations are huge and growing. In the UK, there is a sports council that does research and it's gone from the number four sport to the number two sport," he claims.

Asked is there too much rugby (Heineken Cup, Celtic League, All-Ireland League, Six Nations) taking place these days, Feehan is reluctant to comment. Some rugby writers argue that more tournaments means more wear and tear on players.

"I'm sure all those things may or may not be true, but I'm not sure I really want to comment on any of that. All I can say is what I sell is the premium end of the game and there is more than a hunger to see both Lions and Six Nations games," he says.

That hunger has provided a boost to Ireland, which acts as host for a plethora of rugby bodies, including the IRB, Six Nations and British and Irish Lions.

The latter two are run as separate entities but use the same staff. The World Cup is run by the IRB, also Dublin-based.

Asked why Dublin has ended up playing host to so many rugby bodies, he jokes that "it's not London and it's not Paris".

He says that, in terms of cost base, Dublin is at least as cheap as London or Paris. The location of the Six Nations was not really an issue anyway before it became professional.

"When the game went professional in 1996, it had a huge effect on everyone. All of a sudden players had to be paid and there were much bigger demands on the resources of the unions. So, at that stage, the five nations, as they were then, decided they needed a full-time staff," he explains.

The unions of the six nations involved make up the shareholders of the Six Nations company that Feehan heads up.

"We are like brokers on behalf of the unions," is how Feehan describes the relationship.