Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

How much the Rugby World Cup will cost Kiwis

NZ Herald
15 Apr, 2018 09:21 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Spark and TVNZ have secured the rights to the 2019 Rugby World Cup. So what will be free to watch and what won’t?

Rugby fans could have access to all World Cup games for about $100, says Spark managing director Simon Moutter.

TVNZ and Spark confirmed they had won the right to broadcast next year's Rugby World Cup, and Moutter said work would now begin on pricing packages, as well as deciding what content would be paid and what would be free-to-air.

This would be announced closer to the event.

READ MORE:
• What the TVNZ/Spark deal really means for rugby fans
• 7 World Cup games free to air, but you'll pay for the rest

"Typically in a big sports event like this you would have a tournament pass where you have all the content for a one-off fixed price," Moutter said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Ballpark for the tournament, we're thinking about $100, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.

"If you compare that - one ticket to an All Blacks game last year in the Lions tour was $149 for the lowest price ticket, so to watch 48 games, $100 is pretty good."

Customers would also have the option to buy individual games or, for example, only All Blacks games for a set price.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All of the content would be available across any device, with all games in a catalogue on a screening app meaning customers wouldn't need to record matches, but could pick and choose when they wanted to view.

"True TV on demand," Moutter said.

Getting New Zealanders to watch the content online could, however, pose a challenge to Spark and TVNZ.

Earlier in the year when asked for his views on the digital paywall, Sky TV chief executive John Fellet referred to the recent example of the Joseph Parker fight.

He said that of those who paid for the fight, only 10 per cent watched the content online while the rest still relied on the traditional broadcast option.

Customers paid $49.99 to view the fight.

The high levels of streaming during the Commonwealth Games suggest that New Zealanders are becoming increasingly comfortable with online viewing, but Spark will still have a big job to do in convincing sceptical Kiwis that online platforms can deliver a viewing experience comparable to a traditional broadcast.

Asked about the network's capability to handle the demand, Moutter said, "we wouldn't have made a bid if we weren't sure we could deliver".

The deal means TVNZ will screen seven Rugby World Cup matches live – including the tournament's opening match and the final – the same number offered free-to-air in 2015.

A yet-to-be-confirmed number of delayed matches will also screen. There will be no ads during live game time, TVNZ said. There will, however, be ads at halftime and before and after games.

"I'll let my marketers do the work on [pricing]," Moutter said.

"They will set up focus groups and work with customers to figure out what sort of packages customers want and what price points will work, and we'll use that to inform a decison."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'A long hard-fought dream': Fire destroys vessel but vision remains

10 Jun 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

Kaipara’s ‘Trump of the North’ Jepson exits mayoral race, endorses deputy

10 Jun 05:30 AM
Northern Advocate

'Winterless North' revisited: Snow-like sightings stir memories of snowfall

10 Jun 04:20 AM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'A long hard-fought dream': Fire destroys vessel but vision remains

'A long hard-fought dream': Fire destroys vessel but vision remains

10 Jun 05:00 PM

Early on Saturday over 50 people gathered for a blessing ceremony at the site of the fire.

Kaipara’s ‘Trump of the North’ Jepson exits mayoral race, endorses deputy

Kaipara’s ‘Trump of the North’ Jepson exits mayoral race, endorses deputy

10 Jun 05:30 AM
'Winterless North' revisited: Snow-like sightings stir memories of snowfall

'Winterless North' revisited: Snow-like sightings stir memories of snowfall

10 Jun 04:20 AM
'It's a total loss': Fire reignites, destroying home and car

'It's a total loss': Fire reignites, destroying home and car

10 Jun 03:00 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP