Tim Southee and his Black Cap team mates will have to overcome a Pakistan side which had the better of them in Christchurch recently. Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
Spark is dumping its sport coverage and leaving the sport streaming market.
It has reached a deal with TVNZ to "become the home of the majority of Spark Sport content".
TVNZ will become the exclusive domestic broadcaster for all Black Caps, White Ferns and Super Smash matches for three years, from the start of the 2023-24 home summer until the end of the 2025-26 season.
The broadcaster described the deal as "massive" and its biggest in sports for years.
More than 300 international and domestic cricket matches will be screened live on a combination of TVNZ1 and Duke over the agreed three-year period.
In addition, the fixtures will also be streamed live on TVNZ+ with the new arrangement to officially start in July next year.
In making the decision to exit the sports streaming market, Spark noted escalating content rights costs and a broader range of investment opportunities across its business as the key drivers of the decision.
Spark CEO Jolie Hodson said "it has been challenging to reach the scale we aspired to across the Spark Sport platform, with Covid causing major disruption to sporting codes globally just a year after launch.
Spark CEO Jolie Hodson. Photo: Spark
"That slower than expected start, coupled with the escalating costs of content rights globally, makes it difficult to justify the type of investment Spark Sport requires when we have a wider range of investment opportunities across our broader business."
"We have been working with TVNZ as our free-to-air partner on cricket since we won the rights, and this new partnership will deliver New Zealanders the largest volume of top tier free-to-air sports content in the last 20 years, while allowing us to share costs as we exit the sports streaming market," she said.
"No new venture is without risk, and we recognise that this news will be disappointing for our valued customers and partners, and dedicated Spark Sport team."
The decision is also likely to mean job losses at Spark.
"As the Spark Sport platform winds down we will also be working with our people to look for redeployment opportunities across our broader business wherever possible," said Hodson.
'Massive' for TVNZ
TVNZ would be investing more into TVNZ+ to accommodate the additional programming though the value of the investment was not disclosed.
"This is massive for TVNZ," head of sport and events general manager Melody Robinson said.
"This is the biggest sports deal TVNZ done for a very long time."
"We've got a very complex piece of work that we'll be doing over the next seven months to get everything ready for July."
While TVNZ will be taking on more staff, there was no agreement in place to provide ongoing employment for Spark Sport's employees.
Robinson said TVNZ was hoping most of Spark Sport's content would come its way.
"We're really looking forward to those conversations finishing up, so we can find out what extra sport we've also got," she said.