New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White says there are no regrets about taking the game behind a new paywall, but believes cricket will significantly benefit from being on free-to-air TV from the 2022-23 season.
After Spark’s decision to close its subscription sports streaming service, TVNZ will beNew Zealand’s new home of cricket until 2026. The move will see about 100 matches each season between men’s and women’s domestic and international fixtures broadcast free-to-air.
White noted New Zealand Cricket were still big believers in the future of streaming but said there was plenty to be excited about in bringing the game back out from behind a subscription service.
Spark Sport won the rights on a six-year deal which began in 2020, taking the New Zealand game out of the hands of long-time broadcaster Sky Sport.
“I don’t think there are any regrets at all. Look where we are today; it’s the ultimate for New Zealand cricket. With Spark, it was new technology, we were prepared to embrace it, and we really believed in streaming, and we believe streaming still has a massive future.
“Streaming provides the opportunity for younger audiences to get involved as well. No regrets at all. It was a process with Spark, but I think the combination we add with TVNZ accessing the free markets was a good combination. Now we’ve got another situation and we are delighted with the outcome.”
New Zealand Cricket CEO David White. Photo / Photosport
It will be the first time since the 1998-99 summer that TVNZ has had the exclusive rights to cricket, and its streaming platform TVNZ+ is expected to play an important role in reaching as wide an audience as possible.
White expected a significant rise in participation would follow, with the game becoming more accessible to New Zealanders.
While TVNZ director of content Cate Slater would not confirm who was footing the bill with TVNZ taking the rights from Spark Sport, noting it was “commercially sensitive” information, a Spark spokesperson confirmed the telco “will be responsible for meeting ongoing obligations under content agreements that have been agreed with various rightsholders” — some of which extend through to 2028.
For NZ Cricket, the commercial side of the broadcast deal doesn’t change, so the three years on free-to-air TV will act as a case study as to how viable such a platform can be.
“It’s the promotion of sport versus the commercial revenue. It’s an interesting debate,” White said.
“From an NZC perspective, we’re in a stage of our development where the access to free-to-air and us growing the game is really important — especially around the women’s game. Women’s sport is just taking off, and we see it as a massive opportunity. This fits perfectly with our strategy to grow women’s and girls’ sport.
“A lot can happen in three years; new technology, and I’d like to think you never know with our relationship with TVNZ — this might not be a one-off. We could look at the future and build a partnership. Really build something special.”
