The empire strikes back - TVNZ is believed to have outbid a supercharged Sky for the rights to the world’s biggest sporting event, but the full tournament is likely to come at a price for viewers.
TVNZ is understood to have won the broadcast rights to next year’s Fifa World Cup - the biggest sporting event on the planet and the state broadcaster’s boldest move yet into a new pay-television battleground for audiences and revenue.
By the time the men’s football World Cup kicks off next June - featuring 48 teams including New Zealand’s All Whites - TVNZ will have the technology to be able to charge for sport and other content, with subscription TV and even pay-per-view, as Sky TV does now.
State-owned TVNZ has maintained it will always be an ad-funded, free-to-air network first and foremost. But having the capability to bid for sports rights and special events - and charge audiences - is a critical new component in its business model and strategic intentions.
After a week when it has learned its two biggest local competitors are becoming one - with Sky buying Three (TV3) for $1 - TVNZ is expected to use the World Cup to showcase its credentials as a reinvigorated sports broadcaster.
TVNZ said last night it was not in a position to comment, but several well-placed sources believe the state broadcaster has won the rights following a highly competitive battle with Sky.
The men’s football World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet - even ahead of the Olympics - with billions tuning in every four years.
According to Fifa, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar drew five billion fans across all media - the total reach of the France-Argentina final alone was a record 1.42 billion viewers.
Sky held the World Cup rights in 2022, with some free-to-air coverage on Prime and Stuff.
Next year’s tournament, in the US, Canada and Mexico, features an expanded competition with 48 teams, including - for the third time in the tournament’s history - the All Whites.
Anyone who thought that Sky’s fire-sale purchase of TV3 this week would create a broadcasting monster capable of blowing TVNZ and other rivals out of the water - especially when it comes to sporting and entertainment rights - has not factored in the digital investment which allows media firms to expand their own business models.
TVNZ is investing up to $100 million over the next five years as it transforms into a digital-first business, with massive new revenue and audience targets.
The new technology means TVNZ would be able to package up a major sporting event, offering - for example - a certain number of games for free, with others requiring a subscription.
In the case of the World Cup, it might consider offering some or all of the All Whites matches live and free - along with the final and some other major games - but broadcasting the bulk of the tournament behind a paywall.
As Sky becomes a more rounded broadcaster with access to well-established linear channels and - in ThreeNow - a broadcast video on demand (BVOD) platform, so too is TVNZ now encroaching into Sky’s subscription TV space.
Apart from several years when the ultimately doomed Spark Sport was operating, Sky has enjoyed a virtual monopoly on major New Zealand sports rights for more than three decades.
And while TVNZ appears to have the rights for the World Cup - with possibly the Olympics to follow - it may well want to target season-round major codes in the longer term.
It has benefitted from having domestic cricket rights after Spark Sport’s closure in 2023, but Sky has won back those rights after next summer.
Special events certainly give broadcasters a short-term boost, but greater value is likely to be in long-term rights to the likes of rugby, league and cricket - full seasons keep subscribers engaged for months, paying good money to follow their teams each week.
Sky right now is on the cusp of securing rights for All Blacks and other top-level rugby such as Super Rugby, although NZR and Sky are still haggling over the price.
At the moment, the new rugby deal is for another five years, with Three (TV3) now looking more probable as the free-to-air platform, following Sky’s announcement this week that it was buying the channel from Warner Bros Discovery.
But NZR - and undoubtedly, Sky - will be cognisant that TVNZ will soon have the technology to bid more strongly for full rights in the near future.
TVNZ is also believed to be a frontrunner to secure rights to the Olympics in 2027 - it’s in a battle with Sky for that event, too.
In June, TVNZ chief executive Jodi O’Donnell indicated that the state broadcaster was bidding for the rights to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 – New Zealand is one of the territories for which rights have yet to be confirmed.
In Australia, Nine has the rights to the 2028 Games as well as the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, and it is possible the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could be packaging up the rights for both sets of Games for a New Zealand broadcaster.
TVNZ last held the Olympics rights in 2008, for the Beijing Games. More than 2.6 million Kiwis watched the Games in their opening weekend that year.
Since then, Sky has had the rights for the 2012 London Games, 2016 Rio Games, 2020 Tokyo Games (TVNZ had secondary free-to-air rights) and 2024 Paris Games.
Sky said last year that a total of 2.82 million people – 57% of New Zealand’s population – watched the Paris Olympic Games.
“If you look at something like the Olympic Games, for example, the ability for that to be brought to New Zealanders so they can watch it free but the ability for us to compete for those rights means that we need to find some different revenue options as well,” O’Donnell told the Media Insider podcast, referring to TVNZ’s pending new technology.
“That might be an option that you’d think about – an Olympics Pass, for example.”
Asked directly if TVNZ was bidding for the Olympics, O’Donnell said: “There’s quite a few sports rights in the market at the moment. We haven’t been shy about our ambitions around that. We put our best foot forward.
“I don’t have anything to share with lots of sporting rights available in the market at the moment.”
Sky confirmed in June it was also vying for the Olympics rights.
“All our content partnerships need to make financial sense for Sky, both in their own right and as part of the overall mix of sport that we bring to our customers, and we are having constructive discussions on that basis,” said a spokeswoman at the time.
“We think it’s healthy to have choice in the local media ecosystem, particularly as sports codes need broadcast partners from grassroots right through to high-performance competitions.
“Most of the headline-making sport in New Zealand and a high-performing range of entertainment content is on Sky.”
Another state-owned commercial business, MetService, has started offering a subscription fee for advertising-free weather forecasts on its app, as part of a new trial.
The MetService has given customers the option of a $1.99 monthly fee or a $22.99 annual fee should they want an advertising-free experience.
The app trial has raised eyebrows in some quarters, and on social media, about how a publicly owned weather forecaster could be charging the public for weather forecasts.
“We launched the ad-free version of the MetService Weather app in early July as an outcome of customer feedback requesting the option to remove ads,” said a spokeswoman.
“The opportunity to sign up will be available for about one month or until we have the maximum number of participants for the trial, whichever comes first.
“For those who subscribe during the trial period, we’ve committed to [keeping] the ad-free version of the app available for a minimum of one year.
“Input from subscribers will help us understand if there is enough interest to support an ongoing ad-free or premium service. The trial is ongoing, and we will be reviewing the results once it concludes.”
She said the MetService was a state-owned enterprise that operated like a commercial business, returning profits to the Government.
“While key warnings and some forecasts are funded by the Ministry of Transport, most of what you see on our website and apps is paid for through advertising revenue which allows us to offer more forecast locations, data and features.
“We aim to keep ads balanced and user-friendly; however, we know they can sometimes get in the way, that’s why we are exploring the viability of an ad-free option.”
Stuff’s 35-year-old newspaper printing plant in Wellington faces an uncertain future with news that the owner of the site is selling up.
Bayleys is advertising the land and buildings at 35 Bouverie St, Petone - the publishing company leases the site from Stuff’s former owner, Australian media firm Nine Entertainment.
The plant prints The Post and a range of Stuff’s other North Island-based newspapers. Stuff also has a print plant in Christchurch.
“Home to the same use for over 30 years, time is almost up for the current tenant, so now is the time to review this site’s future alternate uses,” says the Bayleys advertisement.
It says current lease arrangements expire no later than May 31, 2028, “but with a right for the owner to require vacant possession in May/June 2027″.
The site is owned by former Stuff owner Nine Entertainment, under the company name Mi9 NZ.
“Sites of this size in such a prime location are few and far between,” says the Bayleys ad.
“This one provides a great opportunity for developers, owner occupiers, and investors alike and gives you time to formulate plans for the property’s future and receive a healthy return in the interim.”
None of that sounds too promising for any future printing ambitions at the location.
However, Stuff Masthead Publishing managing director Joanna Norris said last night that the company had been prepared for the sale.
“We (Stuff Ltd) have a current lease for the land and buildings which house our Petone print plant.
“This runs to mid-2027, with a right of renewal option. The site remained in the ownership of Nine Entertainment Co. when Stuff owner and publisher Sinead Boucher bought Stuff back into New Zealand ownership in 2020.
“Nine has now given us notice that it will look to sell the land and began marketing last week. It is a great site, with an excellent tenant.
“Stuff Ltd has known and prepared for this eventuality. If the site is sold, we will work with our new landlord and most likely see out our current lease and renewal with further options in scope.
“This has no impact on our operation or publications.”
Staff Masthead Publishing is the division responsible for all of the company’s newspapers and digital subscription services, such as The Post and The Press paywalled websites.
Earlier this year, it was revealed NZME had been in discussions to buy those assets, but talks were halted as NZME’s board changes unfolded.
Boucher has said she has no intention to return to the negotiation table, but after this week’s seismic changes in the New Zealand media landscape - with Sky buying Three - it would be no surprise if the parties start talking again.
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.
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