The All Blacks’ new broadcast deal is 25% less than the previous one, highlighting financial challenges.
New Zealand Rugby’s revenue is expected to grow in 2026, with increased international deals and sponsorship.
Sky remains the main broadcaster, but TVNZ will co-screen NPC games, showing up to three live weekly on television.
The All Blacks, as hard as they may try to spin their commercial wheels, are finding they can’t escape from the relative tininess of New Zealand and all the financial limitations that are linked to its small population.
Self-styled as the world’s most recognisable rugby brand, the AllBlacks came up with an imaginative five-year content slate that includes three old-school tour itineraries – two with the Springboks in 2026 and 2030 and one with the British and Irish Lions in 2029 – as well as the new biannual Nations Cup. They then sold the broadcast rights for an estimated 25% less than the existing five-year deal that expires in December.
The 2026-2030 period is potentially going to be the most compelling five years New Zealand Rugby (NZR) ever puts in front of broadcasters and yet the national body was only able to extrapolate an estimated $85 million a year (circa $80m from Sky, and circa $3m-$5m from TVNZ for NPC content), which is about $26m a year less than was initially agreed with Sky in October 2019 to buy the five-year rights to the 2021-2025 period.
That $111m-a-year offer was revised down to about $100m a year after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, forcing a restructuring of Super Rugby and reducing the international programme in 2020 to just six tests. But set against either figure, the announcement last week that NZR has agreed a reduced broadcast agreement with Sky and TVNZ (which will co-screen some NPC games) illustrates the difficulties of striking fair-value contracts in a country that has just five million people.
At the heart of the problem is the fact New Zealand doesn’t have the population to support a competitive market where more than one pay-TV operator can survive.
NZR, quite reasonably, believes that the circa $80m-a-year figure to renew the rights is not a fair reflection of the true value. But with no viable domestic competitor, the national body had no leverage to force Sky to up its bid.
Codie Taylor leads the All Blacks haka ahead of a test against France in July. Photo / Photosport
In 2019, Sky’s share price was tanking and the pressure inside the C-Suite was mounting as Spark Sport, equipped with a well-funded war chest, was acquiring sports rights and making a serious attempt to establish itself as a genuine rival.
When Sky was told in 2019 that its initial $80m-a-year offer would not be enough to secure the rights, it had no choice – given Spark’s looming presence – but to improve its bid, and it came back with $111m-a-year and a 5% equity stake for NZR.
Competition was the key to NZR extracting fair value. But in 2025, the domestic landscape is bereft of players, and while the national body engaged earlier this year with DAZN, which has bought Foxtel in Australia, Sky knew the prospect of the UK-based firm agreeing to buy rugby rights in New Zealand was infinitesimal.
There was also no prospect of any of the major global streaming platforms – Netflix, Disney, Amazon etc – bidding to buy rugby rights.
Netflix has had success with Drive To Survive. Photo / Red Bull
Strategically, Netflix’s interest is in programmes such as Drive to Survive and Break Point – while rugby is arguably too niche a product to interest the big players who are dabbling in live rights acquisitions.
By April this year, NZR sensed it was not going to be able to force a price uplift from Sky and so began focusing on alternative ways it could extract greater value – chiefly, through the provision of a free-to-air component to facilitate greater audience exposure.
But the heavier focus has been on the international market and striking improved agreements with offshore broadcasters, most specifically in the UK and France.
NZR chair David Kirk says those negotiations are now high priority to be concluded and that the indications are strong that the money from those deals will be enough to offset the lower price Sky has offered. This would ensure that from 2026, total broadcast income remains in line – or even slightly increased – from what is currently banked.
Kirk says he believes rugby remains an attractive proposition for broadcasters, and that the reduced domestic deal is a sign not of a sport enduring a decline in popularity but merely reflects that lack of competitive tension in the New Zealand market.
What does the broadcast deal mean for fans?
It’s pretty much business as usual. Sky remains the exclusive owner of most of NZR’s rugby content and anyone wanting to watch the big-ticket items of tests against South Africa, the Lions tour and Nations Cup will have to subscribe.
The difference in this cycle is that TVNZ has co-exclusive rights to the NPC and an agreement to show up to three games live per week.
Sky will produce all the NPC games, but it is unclear whether TVNZ will provide its own commentary and analysis teams for the specific fixtures it shows.
NZR has stated that it has not sold the rights to a maximum of five All Blacks and five Black Ferns tests that have not yet been scheduled.
Essentially, it is talking here about a possible World Cup warm-up game in 2027, and potential fixtures – most likely in the USA and Japan, such as the one being played this year against Ireland in Chicago – in 2028, 2029 and 2030.
While NZR made specific mention of this in the press release announcing the broadcast deal, giving the impression it was a new arrangement and therefore potentially signalling there was potential for these games to be snapped up by broadcasters other than Sky, it is in fact standard practice.
The All Blacks have consistently played “additional” fixtures since 2008 – the broadcast agreements to which have been negotiated on a game-by-game basis and, to date, have always been purchased by Sky.
What does the deal mean for NZR’s finances?
NZR is forecasting that its total revenue will grow in 2026 and exceed the record $285m it posted in 2024.
What’s changing is the source of that income. Since the earliest days of professionalism, broadcast income has been the single largest contributor, but from 2026, NZR’s financial profile will reflect the international nature of monetising the All Blacks.
Total broadcast income is expected to moderately increase from its current figure of around $100m a year – on the assumption the offshore deals meet current expectation – and the growth in revenue in 2026 will come mostly from improved match-day revenues and sponsorship.
The All Blacks will only play four home tests in 2026, but they have agreed that the Greatest Rivalry series with South Africa will operate as a 50:50 revenue share, with the fourth test to be played at a yet-to-be-confirmed neutral venue.
NZR will also benefit from a revenue-share agreement that will enable it to pocket gate takings from the final weekend of the Nations Cup, which will be played in London.
It will also pick up a share of sponsorship revenue from the Nations Cup and it continues to add new All Blacks partners which have rights in specific geographic zones or are attached to specific tests.
Again, the increases are all coming from being able to leverage the All Blacks brand outside New Zealand.
What does the long-term future of broadcast look like?
It is probable that like its other revenue sources, over time, NZR will secure more money from offshore broadcasters than it does from its domestic rights.
The prospect of New Zealand’s broadcast market for sports rights becoming truly competitive is remote.
The only two prospects currently on the horizon are DAZN and TVNZ – neither of whom are necessarily poised as strong bets to become genuine alternatives to Sky.
DAZN is ambitious and has stated a desire to become the world’s largest specialist sports broadcaster. But the likely cost of building a brand presence in New Zealand against the probable returns could make it reluctant to bid for All Blacks rights when they next come up for grabs.
TVNZ has the rights to broadcast next year's men's football World Cup. Photo / Photosport
But to become a genuine option to buy the full suite of rugby rights, it would have to factor in the cost of production – Super Rugby Pacific, tests and the NPC collectively cost in the tens of millions to cover.
The inevitable price hike it would have to inflict on consumers - who currently pay nothing to watch content – makes it questionable as to whether this would be a justifiable model to adopt.
Can a Government-owned entity invest around $100m-a-year buying and producing live rugby and then gamble that it can cover its costs?
Sky’s recent purchase of TV3 has consolidated the market further, and if there is to be significant growth in broadcast income, it’s going to have to come from the international rights.
The ultimate hope for NZR is that rugby’s leading nations can agree to collaborate and agree to sell all their content in one package to entice a major streamer to buy exclusive rights to the Nations Cup, Six Nations and Rugby Championship.
