Liam Napier: What a Rugby World Cup rights change would mean for rugby fans

Members of the All Blacks celebrate winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Sky raising the white flag in the bid to broadcast the 2019 Rugby World Cup is another reminder New Zealand rugby fans must prepare to change the way they view our national sport.

News that Sky is not the preferred broadcast bidder for the World Cup in Japan comes as a surprise.

But should it, really?

Sky has been facing increasing pressure for some time. Subscribers long hit a ceiling, and in the age of digital technology Sky has been slow to move and adjust pricing.

The company is also in a state of flux with chief executive John Fellet on his way out, and the battle for long-term rugby rights just heating up.

Still, perspective is needed. Of the eight Rugby World Cups staged since 1987, Sky has broadcast two (2011 and 2015) and only had sole rights to the last event in the UK.

Loyal Sky subscribers have every reason to feel aggrieved they will now, in all likelihood, have to go elsewhere and dip further into their pockets to watch the World Cup.

Given rugby and its viewers provides the backbone to Sky's business, expectations are the pay-TV company consistently delivers pinnacle events.

For Sky, choosing not to break the bank for RWC is purely a business decision.

At a time when the war chest is being preserved for the attempt to retain the rights to the All Blacks and Super Rugby, outbidding the ambitious Spark/TVNZ partnership was clearly not worth the financial risk.

Sky has effectively decided it is better to take another public and potential subscriber hit than suffer the possibly crippling consequences associated with stumping up millions for the six-week World Cup.

For their part, New Zealand Rugby has no say. Rugby World Cup contracts IMG Media to run this process, with rights sold to the highest bidder.

Unlike the standoff set to take place for rights to the All Blacks and Super Rugby come the end of the existing Sanzaar agreement in 2019, NZR must sit idle. It will, therefore, make no comment until New Zealand's successful World Cup broadcast bid is formally announced.

Behind closed doors, New Zealand Rugby may have concerns about the ability of the wider rugby public to access Spark's online services. Interest in the All Blacks is never greater than at the World Cup, and watching delayed coverage is never the same as viewing it live.

Spark's online platforms may also be untested to such a large influx of viewers, and a backlash will come should it not perform perfectly in the middle of an All Blacks test.

The upshot for rugby fans is they may now be forced to watch the World Cup on Spark's Lightbox platform. At this stage, it costs $12.99 for 30 days but that may change should Spark secure the World Cup rights.

The likely scenario for TVNZ is they pick up the mandated free-to-air component of having the quarterfinals onwards available to everyone.

In 2015, Sky used Prime's free-to-air platform to screen every All Blacks game, including their knockout matches, delayed.

This may now be TVNZ's role to satisfy access to events of 'national significance'.

For Sky, this process is yet another reminder that its monopoly is over.

With the likes of Amazon, Australian pay-TV operator Fetch, and now Spark/TVNZ potentially waiting in the wings to bid for All Blacks rights in future, Sky will need every cent of its cash reserves.