"Hamish has earned the trust and respect not just of the country's sporting community, but more importantly that of our audience, through hard work, an encyclopaedic sporting knowledge, and the occasional controversial but honestly held opinion," Sutherland told Newshub.
McKay will also go down in New Zealand pop culture history for being the target of Pulp Sport's McKay-ver skit for several years.
The segment saw Bill and Ben repeatedly prank the sports presenter, including covering his car in Post-It notes, filling his office with sheep and and plastering his face on a billboard for erectile dysfunction outside the TV3 offices.