Jodi O'Donnell: TVNZ CEO on securing the FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights, creating a paid event pass for it

TVNZ will be charging its viewers for content for the first time after securing the rights to broadcast next year's Fifa World Cup. 

Viewers will be able to stream 104 football games over the tournament's 39 days, including replays and highlights, if an event pass is purchased. 

All of New Zealand's games will be free-to-air, alongside a handful of others. 

TVNZ CEO Jodi O'Donnell told Mike Hosking data was collected on how many people are actually prepared to pay for additional sport. 

She says the number of people that watched the Euros tournament with TVNZ gave them confidence. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good day for TV and Z though they've announced they've
got the rights to the next year's World Cup. Of
course football are they're going to pay for you? Jody
a done as the CEO owners with us.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Jody morning, good morning, make how are you very well?

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Thank you? Technologically speaking, could you start this this afternoon
or is there still work to do?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
There's definitely still work to do, but we're pretty excited
with the announcement today, so yesterday should say, and so
the hard work really starts. Now.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
How did you do the numbers? Because all whites are free,
so that would have been a real big revenue stream.
So you're not getting anything from that, so you're relying
on what expats and obsessives.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well, what we've actually done is over the last two
years in particular, we've had the opportunity to test a
whole lot of sports with all of the rights that
we picked up when Sparksport closed, So we've actually been
testing with lots of different rights. And what we were
really encouraged with was when we had the Euros last
year and we had hundreds of thousands of people flocked
at our tv Z Plus platform and so that's really
given us the confidence to be able to move forward

(00:56):
with us. So, yes, all of the all Whites matches
will be available free and also a selection of other matches.
But there's super fans out there who we believe will
be willing to pay for one hundred and four of
those matches across the thirty nine day period, which is
what we're calling the tvnsed event pass.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Okay, so you will have done numbers based on you
will have guessed at how many people are prepared to
pay for those one hundred and four games versus what
you offered for the football. Is that how you did it?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Roughly correct? That's right. So we've really, like I said,
been really looking at all of the data and the
behavior and hearing from the fans, and I think that's
the most exciting thing about this is a directly choice
now for the sporting bodies and more importantly for audiences.
So that's a great place for us to be and
a great opportunity for us to be able to have
an event such as a Safer World Cup accessible to

(01:45):
morning jelenders.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
How many packages are you going to offer in terms
of breaking it down, or is it it's free to
wear or you pay for the lot.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
It will just be the truth. It'll be really simple.
You're the pace for the event pass, where like I said,
you get all one hundred and four games plus you
get highlights and additional clips and player profiles, or you
watch it free to wear on TV. Did one one.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Hundred and thirty nine dollars for the lot? Is that
your price?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
I'm not in a position to be able to share that.
I think that's pretty excessive. Actually, one thing we'll be
making sure is that that it is accessible and it
won't be out of step with what's currently and market.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
Okay, well, I came to that number last night because
I thought of boxing. Individual boxing events can go to
thirty nine or forty nine dollars for a singular boxing
event a whole month's worth of football. And these people
are crazy. You understand that, of course, So at one
hundred and thirty nine, I reckon they do it all right? Well,
do you understand myself, Jodi? Are you going to say
it was seventy nine dollars and you're going back to
the boardroom now going oh god.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
No, that's another proof points. I know. We have actually
done some market research on it, as well as making
sure the commercials work. Obviously we're a commercial business and
so it's really important that we've done our homework around that.
But that's good to have any price points.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Thanks mate, no worries at all. I'm here to help
so as this is the future, this is the future
of TV and Z A lot more stuff behind a wall.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Look what's really important there. As a freed toy broadcaster,
there are always rights that are outside of our reach.
So I've been able to have a pay component means
that actually we can compete for other rights that we
might not have always been able to and in this
exact example, the super fans can have absolutely everything. But
actually we've got our team, the all whites available to
all newdellingness to be able to say, and that's what

(03:25):
we're most proud of.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Good stuff. Nice to talk to you. Go well, Jody O'Donell,
who was the TVNZ chief executive being one hundred thirty
and I was that too much for a whole months
with one hundred and FORMATU one hundred thirty yone dollars, I
thought that's value for money. But you're obviously clearly going
to get it cheapest for more from the mic asking
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