Taranaki Bulls' Vereniki Tikoisolomone scores against King Country on Wednesday. Photo / SmartFrame
Taranaki Bulls' Vereniki Tikoisolomone scores against King Country on Wednesday. Photo / SmartFrame
As negotiations inch forward between Sky and New Zealand Rugby to renew their five-year broadcast contract, agreement has all but been reached that when they do put pen to paper, the two big winners will be TVNZ and the National Provincial Championship.
The deal won’t be exclusive or necessarily extensive – how much content ends up on TVNZ+ depends on what commercial agreements can be reached between the Government-owned channel and Sky.
Under the terms of the deal being discussed, it is understood Sky will buy rights to the All Blacks, all national teams and Super Rugby – but will work with TVNZ on NPC (including the Farah Palmer Cup) to try to agree a split broadcast package where games appear on both channels.
It will be, sources say, a set-up similar to netball where games are split between Sky and TVNZ, with a mix of live, delayed live and highlights packages delivered across both networks.
The exact number of games that end up live on TVNZ+ will come down to money – as the FTA channel will have to meet production costs as well as chip in for the rights – but it is thought at least one, possibly two and perhaps even three lives games a week will end up being shown.
Wellington celebrate their win against Bay of Plenty in last season's NPC final. Photo / Photosport
Sky is understood to be open to the idea of working collaboratively with TVNZ as it will ultimately be a win-win for the subscription channel – in that it will retain access to provincial content but at a significantly lower cost to the price it currently pays.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is supportive of a split deal too because it will amplify the NPC’s media exposure, and pave the way for the national body to reimagine the competition to confirm its position as a treasured asset in the rugby landscape.
How specifically the NPC ends up being revamped has not yet been decided, but NZR will look at a full range of options such as the format of the competition – could it be regionalised to play into local rivalries, cut costs and build stronger match narratives?
The time and days that games are played will be under review and there will be a desire to encourage unions to play at smaller, tighter, community venues rather than major stadiums.
How much and who pays the players is also under review as part of the player collective agreement negotiations.
NZR will also lower its expectations on production values to reduce the number of cameras required to broadcast games, and it’s probable the national body will want a hand in directing and potentially funding magazine-style, digital and social media content to help lift exposure and appeal to a younger audience.
The prospect of being the big winner in the new broadcast deal will be both a surprise and relief to the provincial unions (PUs), who last year received a letter from NZR head of community rugby Steve Lancaster, in which it was said: “Future broadcast revenue values for the NPC will be significantly lower than previous broadcast agreements, on the basis that Sky TV is not expected to wish to bid for rights to broadcast every NPC/FPC [Farah Palmer Cup] game moving forward.”
It came as a shock to the unions who were also told in the same letter that:
“Further, there are concerns about the NPCs role in developing future professional rugby players to underpin competitive Super Rugby teams and Teams in Black [TiB], and that the highest-spending PUs have player payrolls double the lowest-spending PUs, contributing to a lack of competitive balance and an unsustainable cost model which in some cases is considered to impact on levels of investment in community rugby.”
The letter was laying out the terms of reference for a major review into domestic competitions and development pathways – a body of work NZR felt was overdue given the bloated costs of the NPC and competition occurring between Super Rugby and provincial teams for players.
It was an acknowledgment that provincial rugby has endured a tough ride in the last decade, as it has faced an ongoing battle to understand its purpose and identity in a changed rugby ecosystem where teams in black have become the focal point of investment and interest, and Super Rugby clubs have solidified their assumed place as the primary developers of elite talent.
Some unions have been particularly challenged in accepting that the glory days of the past are long gone.
And as the provincial game has dropped down the hierarchy, there have been mixed reactions within the unions themselves about how to adapt and reposition themselves.
Some have clung on to the idea that their primary goal is to produce a winning NPC team and develop players who graduate into Super Rugby, while others have considered their purpose to be to run club competitions and find and nurture junior players who love the game.
As a result, the NPC has become caught in this netherworld of semi-professionalism – unsure about why it exists and how it relates to both Super Rugby and teams black.
