D'Arcy Waldegrave: Sportstalk host on Netball NZ's new broadcast deal with TVNZ

Netball New Zealand will dip into its own pocket to keep the ANZ Premiership afloat next year.

A one-season broadcast deal with TVNZ was recently confirmed, with the 2026 ANZ Premiership being exclusively free-to-air.

Chief executive Jennie Wyllie has not revealed whether players will take a pay cut, but says the governing body must invest.

Sportstalk host D'Arcy Waldegrave explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Scored with tv RED Live within play.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Resonsively Darcy Watergrave Sports Talk hoasters with us.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, Darce, and I see you've had some revealing words
from Melody Robinson.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
So what Melody has essentially confirmed to us is that
there is if you work backwards backwards from the last
thing she said, they are not paying Netball New Zealand
anything for the steal. Netball New Zealand is essentially paying
for this to go to air because they're paying the
production costs. But when the audience hits a certain level,
at that point there will be rights money that go
from TVNZ to Netball New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Now, Jenny Wiley was reticent to explain that on the
program last night. In fact, also another interview with one
of my colleagues is a netball fiend and Nathan Limb.
It was very the less she said, the more she
said last night. There was a lot of sub diffusions,
a lot of walking around it. Well, there's this, and
we've got to understand that that there's aka to say, hey,

(00:56):
we're paying for it. She'd say, we're going into our reserves.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
That's what they're using, the cash reserves.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Full take. Yeah, Well and millicit said to me, it's like, well,
you know, to pay for your hobby, you've got to
re mortgage the house.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Hey does this mean then? I mean, think about the
impact on the players, right they are going to presumably
have their pay cut.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Oh they're in negotiation right now, aren't they.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
And they'll be out there getting part time jobs or
full time jobs to be able to professionally play netball.
This is unsustainable?

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Does you'd say so? Is it possible? Though? With the
amount of eyeballs. I'm fascinated in the balance between eyeballs
on the screen because it's free to air and actually
cash money and how much you can generate out of
the eyeballs when it's on free to wear as far
as schationship is concerned, even on the dresses around all

(01:45):
the venues they can I think that people might buy
into that, But you'd say that in order to continue
the strength of netball, they need the children playing the game,
and how do you get them in. You stick it
on free to wear TV and it's huge at that
younger level, predominantly women, but some men do play it.
So I think that people who have been critical of

(02:09):
netball in New Zealand have got to understand that if
there's nothing on offer and no one's got any money
to pay them, and no one wants to fork up
any cash, what are they going to do pull the
pin and walk away. They've got to do something. So
it's a one year deal and they work from there.
It's a pretty tough gig, right, It.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Is really hard. Actually, I want to talk about Nibel
a little bit more later on in the show. Talk
to me about school sport in z banning the year
four teens blanket ban, which I think is a little
harsh because in some cases there will be a good
case for somebody to come back and finish their year thirteen.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
But do they have to play sport?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
What do you think? Do you think when you when
you're a year fourteen?

Speaker 1 (02:48):
What if they what if.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
They're a kid who was advanced, like Clever, advanced through
the years, so is year twelve age playing at year thirteen,
but they want to play with their age brackets so
they stay back another year.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
That might be an excuse. I'm sure there's reason. I'm
going to be talking about that tonight on this show.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Then capture.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
I think when you look at a number of athletes
at school now, a lot of schools put in this
commitment that if you don't do your studies and don't
do your work, you're not going to play anyway. So
you don't have people repeating that year of school. So
if they put conditions parameters around like that, then you
don't have that problem, right. But I think mainly it's

(03:29):
pointed at schools who are in essence cheating.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Oh no, I totally agree. I just think blanket bands
are too inflexible. Right, There will be things.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
It's very tough. Yeah, it's very tough, but I think
you've got to look after the mini and you make
those laws based on the many, not the feutu.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Good stuff. Listen, and very quickly you've got Lima years
coming back to play with the Mulus.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
We'll have a good chat to Lima well. I actually
have already to tell the truth. He's a top bloke.
I'm looking forward for you. Wanted to hear that.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Thanks Dars Darcy Watergrove Sports Talk Hoost. He'll be back
at seven this evening for more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.
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