US rugby bosses say they are "very interested" in the possibility of an east coast franchise joining the Guinness Pro12.

The Pro12 hierarchy are keen to increase revenue for the league in the light of bumper television deals for England's Aviva Premiership and France's Top 14.

The league, which features sides from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, have raised the possibility of linking up with America and have held tentative discussions with rugby bosses across the Atlantic.

The sport is growing in popularity in the US with a domestic league having been established while London Irish played Saracens in a league fixture in New York last season.

A Test between the Eagles and New Zealand attracted a bumper crowd in Chicago while the US sevens team are genuine contenders for gold at the Olympics in Rio next month.

"We're certainly very interested but we need to take a realistic look at the feasibility of it and we haven't crossed that fundamental step yet," said United States Rugby chairman Bob Latham in an interview with ESPN.

"Those discussions are at a very early stage but we would certainly look at that and see if it makes sense."

"When we receive interest of that kind it is somewhat flattering that people want to enter the market here and we are interested in taking a look at anything that grows and encourages interest in the sport," he continued.

"I'm not sure if we have any preconceived notions over how best to make it happen.

"There will be travel issues so the East Coast makes sense but, if you look at the timing of the Pro12 competition, it can be difficult to play in the north east part of the USA at that time of year.

"We have to balance the factor of where fans will turn out, where the weather will be conducive, where there's a likely fan base as well as the travel issues."

The Pro12 chief executives will discuss the issue further in the coming weeks along with a potential conference split to the league.