Sky TV jabs back against Spark, bolstering its football lineup

Many football fans will likely now end up shelling out for both Sky and Spark if they want to watch the EPL and cup competitions like the FA Cup and Champions League. Photo / AP

Sky TV has moved to bolster its football line up following Spark's move to grab English Premier League rights for the next three seasons.

Director of sport Richard Last says Sky has signed a series of new deals, including rights to the FA Cup and the new Uefa Nations League and Euro 2020.

The new contracts could serve to minimise Sky subscriber losses from Spark winning the EPL.

Many football fans will likely now end up shelling out for both Sky and Spark's pending Spark Sport app, which will launch next year.

The Uefa Nations League was introduced this year to give a bit of an edge to international matches outside the World Cup and Euro competitions - which have previously tended to be low-interest, watery "friendlies."

The competition recently saw England beat Spain in a 3-2 thriller on October 15 and it will see England in a re-match against World Cup semifinal foes Croatia on Monday NZT as the pair jostle to be top of their Nations League group.

The league's complicated structure is a bit of a head-scratcher, but at least the dreaded "international break" now has a bit of spark.

Nations League coverage began today.

Sky kicked off its FA Cup coverage last weekend with three matches.

"It's important to note that the FA Cup will include English Premier League teams from January, meaning fans will still be able to follow EPL teams on Sky Sport."

Translation: If you follow top EPL teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, a Spark Sport sub won't be enough.

Sky's full football line-up is now:

• FA Cup (New Deal)
• Uefa Champions League
• Uefa Europa Cup
• Uefa Nations League (New Deal)
• Uefa Euro 2020 (New Deal)
• Hyundai A-League
• Fifa World Cup
• Fifa Confederations Cup
• Fifa Club World Cup
• Fifa U-20 World Cup
• FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup (currently underway on SKY Sport)
• ISPS Handa Premiership
• Italian Serie A
• Major League Football (via ESPN)
• 2020 & 2024 Olympic Games

Sky now holds FA rights directly rather than via ESPN.

EPL rights for New Zealand for the three seasons to 2018/2019 were held by BeIN Sport, which offered games via its app and via Sky as its TV partner.