Editorial: Game on for Spark Sport

EDITORIAL:

Competition is the best way to ensure consumers are getting a good deal.

If rivals are challenging each other on quality and price that means the public are getting a better choice of goods and services at cheaper rates.

Many Kiwis should then be looking forward to Spark's tilt into the world of paid sports television.

The phone and internet company's service, Spark Sport, made its first big splash into the market when it snapped up the shared rights to this year's Rugby World Cup with TVNZ.

The move was a coup and wrestled the rights away from Sky, whose dominant market position allowed it to charge customers what it likes. Sky would no doubt argue customers get good value for what they paid — which is why 750,000 subscribe.

But is it any coincidence that less than a month after Spark Sport's March launch, Sky slashed some of its prices?

Spark Sport has since added the English Premier League to its line-up and isn't content to stop there. It has ambitions to go after other big competitions — including more international rugby. That will be costly given analysts estimate Sky TV's current sports line-up costs it $105million a year for rights.

Spark Sport's foray into the market is not without potential problems. Another big bidder for rights could drive up their price and, in turn, what consumers have to pay to watch their favourite sports.

And because Spark's service streams over the internet rather than a satellite network, some Kiwis won't have the broadband speeds required to watch it. And simply replacing one dominant pay-TV provider for another offers Kiwis no benefit.

But if the entertainment market is any guide, there is room for multiple players in the New Zealand market.

International companies like Netflix have transformed how Kiwis watch television, alongside local players Lightbox (owned by Spark) and Neon (owned by Sky). The three services offer viewers a wide array of television shows, while rivalling each other on price. Let's hope a similar competitive dynamic in sports television soon develops alongside it.