Free to air sport in NZ?  

Indeed. What was once thought to be a pipe dream is slowly turning into palpable reality.   

It wasn’t too long ago that Spark Sport turned up and shook the televised sport watching community to its core. Overnight the ease and simplicity of the one stop shop for sporting content was punched in the throat by the new kid on the block.   

The longer in the tooth and those without stable internet screamed foul as their happy place was turned upside down. The thought of streaming through multiple platforms struck fear into the hearts of the technology-phobes, the idea of paying through the nose for them seized up the wallets of others.   

It was looking grim. For meat and two veg sport consumers, having to shell out for the Kiwi staples of rugby and cricket via 2 platforms was too much. It was claimed that multiple players would drive the price down for consumers, but for your average casual sport punter, it just added an extra cost. 

It was a horrible time. The ease of flicking through channels disappeared, the price went up, the internet-based coverage was unreliable, it was all too much.   

Then Spark Sport hit a wall and fell apart, just when we were getting used to it and the competition started to result in lower prices.   

As much as NZ Cricket would like to claim that their contractual foresight saved the game in NZ, they had nothing to do with Sparks collapse which triggered free to air cricket for the masses. A great back stop sure, but NZC couldn’t have seen that coming.  

More eyeballs on free cricket and the ensuing public engagement got the ball rolling and Sky TV’s hand was forced. In order for sport to stay relevant, aspirational and an integral part of Kiwi society, free to air coverage had to happen. The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t been at all helpful, with a number of families forgoing the joy of live pay per view sport for staples. Like food and rent and gas.   

The free to air coverage of an NRL match on a Friday night, which includes seven ‘Up the Wahs’ fixtures and a game of Super Rugby on Saturday is only a taste, but for the starving masses, they’re the best meals they’ll have all week.   

That'll do.