David Kirk: NZ Rugby Chair on the new SkyTV and TVNZ rugby broadcasting deal

SkyTV is set to broadcast every All Blacks’ game for the next 5 years, and TVNZ will broadcast all 93 of the National Provincial Championship (NPC) matches. 

Chair of NZ Rugby David Kirk told Heather duPlessis-Allan that reaching this deal has been a ‘long, long journey.’ 

‘Both parties have worked hard, and I think we've got to a place which works for both of us.'

LISTEN ABOVE 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, New Zealand Rugby has committed to Sky TV for
another five years. Every All Blacks match will be on Sky,
every NPC match and a few Fara Palmer Cup games
will be on TV and Z and TV and Z
Plus free to air obviously. David Kirk's chair of New
Zealand Rugby. Hey, David, Hi, Ever, do you feel like
you've got a good deal.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Yeah, I think we've got a We've got a good deal,
a good deal for both parties. I think it's been
you know, long long journey. Both both pardies have have
worked hard and I think we've got to a place
which works for both of us.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yeah, what what took you guys so long? Because you've
been negotiating for such a long time.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah, I think this is pretty complex. Is there's a
lot of new content that's come into it in the
Nation's Cup, the greatest rivalry. We've got the Women's Lions
coming to New Zealand during the next five year period
and also the Men's Lions. So there's a lot of content,
and also there's a lot of there's a lot of
platforms these days, and so you know, you need to

(00:56):
be negotiating, you know, cross platform as it were. So
Sky obviously the core component, but they've got their own, uh,
they've got two or three platforms as well. We've got
TV and Z, a range of other people who have
been involved in the process a long way, so just
you know, just a complex deal to get done.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Why have have it? Was it you who asked for
the MPC to be on TV and Z.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
That was sort of a way. The most appropriate way
to think about that was it was a way of
breaking a bit of an impasse because Sky had got
to a level that they were prepared to pay, they
thought it was appropriate for them to pay, and we
weren't happy with that, and so we needed to look
for ways in which we could bridge the gap. In

(01:46):
One of the ways was to find a third party
that was was able to contribute financially for for some
content that that Sky was prepared to also effectively share.
So that's how we got to all ninety three of
the NPC games being broadcast on TV, inst and far

(02:07):
up on a Cup games and Heartland games.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Do you think that it will? I mean, because you know,
one of the sad things I suppose about the Super
Rugby era is that that the NPC has kind of
dropped out of favor in terms of what we're interested in.
Do you think it might lift it up again?

Speaker 2 (02:21):
I think it will. I think we're very hopeful it will,
because I mean, you've got to see it to do
it really in a way. You know, it really helps you.
And if you think about club players up and down
across New Zealand, their next step, the thing they most
aspire to is NPC rugby and if they can and
if they can see NCP being played, they can see

(02:43):
the people that they've played club rugby against playing NBC
rugby on television, you know that that helps with that aspiration,
with that pathway. I certainly know that was certainly the
way I thought about it when I was playing. So
I think, yes, I think it'll be great to have
far more people able to look to watch MBC.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Now, those five exhibition games that are not going to
go to Sky, who do you think might buy them?

Speaker 2 (03:10):
Interesting question? They're not actually exhibition games. They're following test matches.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
But they're not there unannounced test matches that sit outside
the regular stuff, right.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Correct, So there's five test matches that are not part
of the domestic broadcast agreement, and we don't actually know
what those test matches are yet or where they'll be
played or against home or what time zone, but they'll
be serious test matches and well, we you know, there's
no final decision on how we would look you know,

(03:42):
what we would look to do with those test matches
in terms of how we make them financial.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
I mean, could you sell them to Netflix in the
same way that that you know, you have the Tyson
Tyson Fury boxing match or something we.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
Could sell to anyone. Yeah, and Sky certainly would be
able to We'll be able to bid for them, but
so will other global streamers, and so will we potentially
think about running them free to air. It will just
depend on what our particular you know, what we want
to get out of that, what benefits we want to
get out of those matches.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yeah, David, thank you for your time. Appreciate it so much.
It's David Kirk, New Zealand Rugby Chair. For more from
Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd
be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.