Exclusive interview: Departing Kirwan on his commentary highlights and how he approached the role as an ex-player; Top business analyst on NZME newsroom cuts; BSA rules on Seven Sharp reporter’s ‘arsehole’ comment; Reality TV channel being cut from Sky; Worst PR line of the week.
Rugby great Sir John Kirwan is leaving Sky as a rugby commentator and presenter after he and the broadcaster could not come to an agreement for the 2025 season.
The All Blacks legend, 60, told Media Insider that he and Sky were parting ways amicably after almost a decade behind the microphone: “I’m moving on from Sky. When the stars align, I believe it’s time to move on. I’ve had a blast. It’s been fantastic – I’ve loved it.”
Kirwan said Sky had given him an opportunity when he was in a “pretty horrible place professionally” after leaving the Blues coaching role at the end of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
“It gave me the opportunity to get into the broadcasting game and follow the game I love,” said Kirwan, also renowned as a mental health support advocate.
He has covered dozens of matches for Sky, including Super Rugby matches, All Blacks tests and two Rugby World Cups.
Kirwan will also no longer appear as a panellist on Sky rugby show The Breakdown. He said he would miss the on-air relationship with Kirstie Stanway, Mils Muliaina and Jeff ‘Goldie’ Wilson and “just being a bit of a voice for the public”.
“One of the things I’ll miss the most is being stopped at the airport and people giving me their opinions and telling me to make sure I say it on Breakdown. That’s been really cool. That’s what I really enjoyed.
“And just being part of the event. I don’t miss playing the game... but being on the sideline, being part of the event was a real highlight.”
As an ex-player - Kirwan played 63 tests on the wing for the All Blacks and scored 35 tries - he said he was always conscious of his comments on the sideline and in the studio.
“One of the rules that I set myself, being an ex-player, was never to make it personal. I think that if you have constructive criticism and you’re consistent then the players - they might not like it - but they’ll accept it.
“As long as it doesn’t become personal, as long as you try and understand the situation as well, then I think they’ll be fine.”
As a rugby commentator himself, his own performance was also always in the spotlight. He said he did not take it personally if people did not share or like his own opinions.
Most Kiwis had an opinion on the game, “which is healthy”.
“When we don’t, that’s when we’re going to be in real trouble. When there’s apathy, that’s when you start to worry about the game.”
In terms of his own memorable moments as a commentator, he says the All Blacks’ nail-biting upset win over Ireland at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France stands out. “It was an amazing moment. I got into a bit of trouble because poor old Goldie was commentating and I was next to him just absolutely losing my professionalism.”
In 2011, he went the other way – falling into nerve-racking silence while working for Sky Italy. His co-commentator implored him to say something as the All Blacks clawed their way to a one-point victory over France in the Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park.
Kirwan will take time to consider the next steps but does not expect to be far from the game he loves, which has given him so much in life.
“One of the major things was a bit more freedom. When I say the stars align, there are two or three things that keep knocking on my door. The freedom of not having to do every Sunday and every weekend frees me up to spend a bit more time doing other stuff.
“But I love communicating and I love the game. I don’t know what that looks like in the future. I’m taking a bit of a sabbatical just to think about what the next road is.
“Never say never - I am available to come back and do some spot stuff for Sky. It’s been a really neat relationship. It’s a mutual agreement - that’s really nice, too. I just want a little bit more freedom.”
Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney said Kirwan had been a “much-loved and familiar presence” on Sky Sport, “sharing a special blend of rugby expertise, personal experience and humour along with his camaraderie with players, coaches and commentators”.
She said he had made a “significant contribution”.
“We are sorry that he is hanging up his Sky microphone and won’t be part of our rugby coverage in 2025. JK departs with our gratitude and deep respect for his commitment to entertaining and informing our customers, and his special mentoring of so many in the Sky team.
“Whilst we’ll miss his energy and robust opinion, he’ll forever be a welcomed presence at Sky in the future.”
The broadcaster has a range of other former rugby players on its commentary roster including Wilson, Muliaina, Justin Marshall, Angus Ta’avao and Honey Hireme-Smiler.
Some of New Zealand’s top journalists have been contemplating voluntary redundancy as NZME proposes cutting its newsroom staff by a net 38 roles.
The mood of the newsroom has shifted between sadness, bewilderment and anger over the past week.
One of the more pointed, public comments came on LinkedIn from a senior BusinessDesk journalist who said the team would not be taking the proposal lying down.
NZME, which is publicly listed, has said it needs to make cuts to ensure the business continues to be profitable – at a level that shareholders expect – and for this to be sustainable.
In extensive Q&A meetings this week, newsroom leaders have been fielding questions about the make-up of proposed new operational “desks” and a renewed push and investment in video journalism.
NZME believes there are advertising revenue and audience gains to be made with the expansion of more video journalism.
With the net loss of 38 roles – including 14 frontline reporting jobs – comes a commitment from the company that journalists will be focused in the future on fewer, but more engaging, higher-quality stories.
Media Insider has learned a handful of senior journalists are considering pulling the pin – whether NZME accepts their voluntary redundancy requests remains to be seen.
Newsroom staff have until next Tuesday to decide whether they put their hand up to request voluntary redundancy.
NZME now expects to confirm the new structure, subject to feedback, on February 19. The new structure would then be in place by March 17 with the adjacent production changes effective from the end of April.
A leading New Zealand business analyst says media firm NZME has done a good job containing costs in recent years, but also highlights the difficulty in balancing that with maintaining quality journalism: “It’s difficult to shrink to greatness”.
Jarden head of research Arie Dekker, a close observer of NZME, says proposed newsroom cuts at the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB highlight a continuing economic challenge for media companies in 2025.
NZME will deliver its annual result later in February. In a research note published last August, Dekker said he was expecting NZME to post earnings of around $55.7 million, a number which was lower than NZME’s original forecasts, earlier in 2024, of earnings of $57m-$61m.
NZME subsequently updated its guidance in November, saying it now expected an operating profit of $53m-$55m, a number that is more in line with Dekker’s own forecast.
“Last year – it’s pretty well documented – was a very tough year for media organisations, even one with strong franchises such as NZME,” Dekker told Media Insider.
“We took a cautious view when we set our numbers because we thought it was going to be a tough year.”
A second-half recovery that may have been factored into NZME’s earlier forecasts did not play out, Dekker said, “particularly with ad revenues being quite lumpy from month to month, as I understand it, as well”.
A downgraded earnings announcement was “not entirely surprising”.
The cuts announced last week were indicative of the business turning its mind to the outlook for 2025, he said. “I imagine those cuts are reflective of the fact that the business probably needs to make some adjustments for what could remain a pretty challenging first six months.”
He said NZME had done a good job, particularly during the Covid period, of adjusting costs.
“For all the relative success that NZME has had – it has a strong publishing franchise, it’s got some pretty solid radio assets – it hasn’t been able to avoid the ongoing structural pressures in the business.
“It’s actually executed a move to digital subscriptions pretty well but it’s still had to make adjustments on the cost base. Investors would look at that – that is the reality of the business NZME’s in.”
Dekker said there would be a fine balance with the cuts, especially those that impacted frontline journalists.
“The challenge is that it’s difficult to shrink to greatness. Ensuring that you’ve got the resources still to maintain an attractive proposition for audiences is obviously that challenging thing to manage when you’re also faced with the reality of having to cut costs.”
With NZME announcing its results in February, he would be particularly interested in how the company’s real estate portal and brand, OneRoof, was faring.
“It was appearing to be benefiting – albeit off low levels – from some improvement in listings and getting the yield. They were continuing to increase their penetration in terms of paid-for advertising on OneRoof. If that’s been stronger through the year, then it will highlight just how tough that advertising market has been in publishing and probably the radio businesses as well.
“We’ll be looking for just a little bit more granularity on the mix of the result.”
OneRoof had been a reasonably late entrant into the property listings market, he said, and its progress had been initially slow, not helped by a reasonably benign housing market.
But the traction it was starting to get with paid advertising was “definitely one of the bright spots”, Dekker said.
He would also be keeping a close eye on NZME’s digital audio and display advertising revenues as well as its digital subscription yield.
“NZME actually produces pretty good revenue granularity – it’s the mix that’s really interesting.”
He would also be watching, longer-term, whether NZME would consolidate with other industry players.
“As a catalyst for the investment case, there’s an element to which they [could be] one of the last men standing, but I think that will play out over a longer period of time. There are some interesting new players that have come into the market as well.”
Sky bosses have been head down in critical meetings this week, dealing with the fallout of the ailing Optus D2 satellite high above New Zealand in space – and anger in many of its customers’ living rooms on earth.
Hundreds of complaints have poured into the Herald and across social channels. The loss of TV reception is bad enough, but much of the customer frustration is focused on technicians’ failure to show up for pre-arranged visits to help sort out the issues.
One customer waited on seven different occasions for a technician to show up – as Media Insider reported this week, he threatened to write to every Sky board member if it happened an eighth time.
Engineering, infrastructure management and construction services firm Downer won the contract to provide Sky’s in-home support from November 1. Its performance has been less than stellar, judging by the level of complaints.
Downer has refused to answer specific questions about the number of technicians it’s employing, the nature of those arrangements, where they are stationed, and how much they are paying them.
And so this week’s award goes to Downer, for its waffly response to complaints about technicians not turning up at homes to fix Sky TV customers’ reception issues.
“Our teams are in regular contact to assess progress and identify opportunities for process improvement. While there is still more to achieve, we are fully dedicated to the partnership and to helping Sky provide best-in-class service to their customers.
“With our national reach and extensive technician network, we’ve expanded our support for Sky by employing additional technicians where necessary. This ensures that we now have more Downer-employed technicians available across the country to support Sky’s customers compared to the previous supplier system. We are confident that the agreed rates are both competitive and reasonable, reinforcing our commitment to delivering quality service at value.”
Downer has not bothered to come back to Media Insider with a response to specific questions. If you know more, please get in touch.
Today marks the final day of the MTV channel on Sky channel 15.
Sky has told customers it is removing the reality TV channel “because of evolving viewer tastes and preferences”.
MTV has shows such as Geordie Shore, Teen Mom (UK) and Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
It says it understands some viewers “may be disappointed” but highlights a range of other reality TV shows on its TLC channel including 90-Day Fiancé, Love in Paradise, and Say Yes to the Dress.
Sky also recently confirmed a new deal for Max shows, as part of its entertainment and Neon packages.
If you park in a mobility car park without a legitimate permit, it’s perfectly fine for a reporter to call you an “arsehole” on national television.
That’s the finding from the Broadcasting Standards Authority, which issued a decision recently in favour of TVNZ’s Seven Sharp.
A viewer did not like the term being used on the evening show, saying it was not the type of language that should be used on a current affairs programme or “indeed at all on prime-time television”.
The use of the word was particularly inappropriate at 7pm, said the complainant, “when children may be watching”.
The segment that caused the complaint went as follows:
Seven Sharp host Jeremy Wells: “If you have a mobility issue, you’ll know how important it is to park as close as possible to wherever you’re visiting. Many places have dedicated mobility parking.”
Seven Sharp host Hilary Barry: “But increasing numbers of people are ignoring the signs. And now the cost of ignoring them is about to go up.”
Reporter: “There’s no denying they are the best parks around. The cream of the crop, close to the action, with plenty of room. But if you don’t have a legitimate need, as indicated by a permit, you’re not allowed to park here. If you do so, firstly, you’re an arsehole. And secondly, you can be fined $150. But from the 1st of October, your blatant disregard for others will cost you a lot more. With the fine going up to $750 – a jump of 400%. It’s the first increase in 20 years and the Government says it’s time for a crackdown on selfish behaviour. So let this be a warning. If you don’t have a permit, find another spot.”
The Broadcasting Standards Authority said it accepted some viewers might have been offended by the term “arsehole”.
“However, we are also conscious the use of such language can be a powerful tool for expression in appropriate cases. Its use in this context sent a sharp message regarding the people who use mobility spaces illegally.”
Ultimately, it said it did not consider the word was likely “to cause widespread disproportionate offence or distress or to have seriously violated widely shared community standards in this context”.
Research by the authority four years ago found the word arsehole was ranked 28 out of 31 derogatory words for acceptability. Three years earlier, in 2018, it was ninth.
We hear Stuff is so unhappy about losing top reporter Sam Sherwood to RNZ that it has been considering invoking a three-month restraint of trade. Sherwood, who rejoined Stuff eight months ago following an award-winning stint at the NZ Herald, has been appointed national crime correspondent at the public broadcaster. Sherwood declined to comment and Stuff said: “We don’t comment on individual employment matters.”
Outgoing News Publishers Association public affairs director Andrew Holden is joining RNZ himself, in the newly formed role of complaints custodian. RNZ editorial quality and training director Jane Patterson said the role was a “crucial part of ensuring RNZ kept to the high standards of both its editorial policy and formal complaints system”. Holden, a former newspaper editor, said: “Maintaining the public’s trust in journalism is more crucial than ever and a robust, meticulous approach to complaints is a core part of the challenge.”
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including managing editor, NZ Herald editor and Herald on Sunday editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
NZ is one of the first jurisdictions in world to clear the way for OMG and IPG to merge.