Warriors star Dallin Watene-Zelezniak celebrates a try against the Raiders. Photo / Photosport
With rugby and now cricket sewn up by Sky TV for the next few years, the NRL offers TVNZ the best opportunity in the short-term to secure a season-long sport that would be a regular, major drawcard for viewers and subscribers.
A new five-year NRL rights deal is on the table, starting from the end of next season.
The NRL is seeking to nail down a new broadcast deal for its Australian rights as early as next month. A similar timeframe is expected for a New Zealand broadcast deal, and certainly by the end of this season.
Media Insider understands the NRL is second only to rugby in terms of the biggest and most valuable sporting rights available to New Zealand broadcasters – it’s understood to be of higher value than cricket.
The rise of the Warriors this season has only intensified viewer interest.
In Sky TV, TVNZ faces an equally aggressive competitor that won’t relinquish rights easily.
Sky is about to lose its flagship HBO entertainment content from its Neon streaming channel, and doesn’t need another metaphorical black eye in its content division.
There is one positive for Sky in the loss of the HBO contract: it has freed up a lot of rights money. An industry source estimated this to be anywhere between $20 million and $30 million a year.
Some of that could presumably be channelled into a fighting fund for Sky and its critical bid to renew NRL rights.
Broadcasters are understood to have had until May 26 to register their interest – it is understood that TVNZ and Sky are set to go head-to-head for the New Zealand rights. An international streamer, such as Amazon Prime, could also be in the mix for at least one or two matches a week, potentially setting up a three-way battle.
In chief executive Jodi O’Donnell, news and content head Nadia Tolich and head of sport Melodie Robinson, TVNZ has three highly ambitious senior leaders, keen to expand TVNZ’s menu. And sitting on TVNZ’s board is former Sky TV chief executive John Fellet, an experienced sports rights negotiator and strategist.
TVNZ head of sport Melodie Robinson. Photo / Getty
TVNZ said Robinson was unavailable for an interview yesterday but a spokeswoman told Media Insider: “We’re always on the lookout for incredible content that appeals to New Zealanders. Whenever we secure rights, we’re sure to let our audiences know.”
Sky TV also said its head of sport content, Gary Burchett, was unavailable for an interview. On the matter of the NRL and pending rights negotiations, a Sky TV spokeswoman said: “Sorry, no comment”.
Sky TV sport content head Gary Burchett.
Sky’s position
Ultimately, this deal will come down to price – what broadcasters can afford, and what that might cost fans.
NRL bosses have made no secret that they want far more money this time around – according to reports across the Tasman, Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys wants an A$4 billion ($4.9b) Australian rights deal for the 2028-2032 seasons (double the price of the current five-year deal).
But they also want to make sure fans aren’t priced out of the market.
Right now, the Australian rights are shared between Nine and Foxtel – but a massive new bidding war is now under way. Several broadcasters – including Nine, Foxtel and Seven – are vying for the new contract, along with Amazon Prime. The global streamer has signalled it is keen to screen at least one NRL match a week – such as the regular Friday night fixture.
On this side of the Tasman, TVNZ’s business case will be built ultimately on what it thinks customers might be willing to pay, and whatever other revenue it thinks it can extract from an NRL deal. TVNZ doesn’t have a balance sheet to sustain a huge loss.
Publicly listed Sky TV might have freed up money, but its shareholders will also be keen to ensure it’s not throwing moon money at the bid.
Chief executive Sophie Moloney has made clear in recent years that rights deals have to drive margins.
“The awesome thing now is we’ve got brilliant data in any of our rights deals as we move into them,” she said in 2024, speaking generally on sports rights.
“We look at what is the value for us and our customers and we see that from what they watch and what do we think the growth audience might be, particularly in digital, to come up with a number.
“We’ll only be signing up to those deals if it does drive margin.”
Nevertheless, losing the NRL would be a massive blow for Sky – just as it starts enjoying a period where it has the exclusive rights to the “big three” sports: rugby, league and, from this summer, after a six-year absence, domestic Black Caps and White Ferns cricket.
Kyle Jamieson celebrates the wicket of Jamie Smith on day one of the first test between the Black Caps and England at Lord’s. Photo / Photosport
At a press conference in Australia last week, V’landys talked about the new NRL rights.
“Everything’s perfect for us to get the best broadcast deal ever. But as I’ve said all along, it’s not about the money. It’s about making sure our fans can afford the subscription.
“We’re not going to make the cost prohibitive, so the greatest negotiation is not how much we get, it’s how much it’s going to be charged back to the fan. Because any person, any broadcaster will naturally want to recoup whatever they invest in broadcast because they’re not there to make a loss, they’re there to make a profit.”
During an interview to promote Sky’s new free-to-air rugby arrangements yesterday, Burchett told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan that, “when the All Blacks play, a country stops”.
He said nothing came close to the All Blacks.
Du Plessis-Allan: “What about the Warriors?”
Burchett: “Doesn’t come close to the All Blacks …”
He said there were times when the Warriors had more viewers than Super Rugby games, although he indicated Super Rugby local derbies were still stronger.
He said the Warriors audience was “great” and building particularly strongly on Sky’s digital platforms (for example, its streaming service Sky Sport Now).
“Sports rights aren’t cheap. What a lot of people don’t also realise is sports production can be eye-wateringly expensive. So I have to put value, and Sky puts value, on its customers because they’re the ones … their money actually acquires our sports rights and allows us to put on world-class rugby.”
Sky TV and MediaWorks
While Sky TV and TVNZ go head to head, are we about to see Sky TV cosying up, and acquiring, another of New Zealand’s major media firms?
Sky acquired Three (TV3) for $1 last year. Despite some painful teething problems with that marriage – partly caused by a lacklustre TV advertising market – Sky still remains the most logical local buyer of MediaWorks, operator of many of New Zealand’s best-known music radio stations.
Radio advertising continues to perform relatively well and having strong linear and digital audio platforms in its portfolio is likely to be a big attraction for Sky.
As Media Insider revealed in February, MediaWorks is being primed for sale, with Australian private equity owner Quadrant an unlikely long-term investor in the media firm.
In April, MediaWorks announced a turnaround $3.8 million post-tax profit – its best results in years, and one that set it up to be sold.
MediaWorks, which owns stations including More FM, The Breeze and The Rock, has reportedly hired Jarden’s New Zealand banking team to manage a sale process.
A source told Media Insider that expressions of interest in MediaWorks have now closed.
A Sky TV spokeswoman said last night: “Sky is not in discussions regarding MediaWorks at this time and has no further comment to make.”
The words “at this time” seem to be doing a lot of heavy lifting in that response.
‘This feels surreal’: Heather DPA’s big radio win
Newstalk ZB drive host Heather du Plessis-Allan was last night named the Sir Paul Holmes broadcaster of the year, for the second straight year.
On stage at the NZ Radio and Podcast Awards, an emotional du Plessis-Allan thanked her husband Barry Soper, her mother, colleagues and listeners.
Of her role, she said: “It is just such an honour. Isn’t it just a wonderful privilege? It is a privilege to turn a microphone on and people listen to you. I don’t even have that privilege with my 4-year-old.”
Heather du Plessis-Allan with her broadcaster of the year award. Photo / Annaleise Shortland
She couldn’t celebrate into the night, though – she is currently filling in for Mike Hosking on the ZB breakfast show.
And hot off the press, and from the NZME newsroom this morning, du Plessis-Allan told Media Insider: “This feels surreal”.
“That room last night was filled with accomplished broadcasters who are very good at their jobs, so I was shocked to win. What is strange about this is that I don’t think what I do is particularly special. I just talk. If it wasn’t on the radio it would be the same stuff on the phone to a friend or over dinner to Barry.
“Also, it’s a boring thing to say because it’s been said so many times in recent years, but it’s true: parents of young kids can’t do their jobs without so many people helping them.
“From dad doing bath-time every night so mum can be in the studio, to grandmother dropping everything at a moment’s notice because the nanny is unwell, to the nanny staying a few extra hours so I could be at the awards.
“I’m very lucky to have my people.”
Simon says …
Former Black Cap Simon Doull appears set to return to cricket commentating duties in New Zealand, as Sky TV returns to broadcasting the sport in New Zealand after a six-year gap.
Sky TV has been trying to keep its new-look commentary team under wraps, but you don’t have to be too clever to figure out the names they’ll be targeting.
That’s also helped when the talent themselves appear to confirm they’ve been signed.
Former Black Caps bowler Simon Doull. Photo / Photosport
Doull appeared on a Sky UK podcast this week to preview the Black Caps’ upcoming test series against England.
He was asked about the next generation of New Zealand batters.
He responded with: “Young players coming through? It’ll be my first time back in New Zealand at the end of this year, when Sky NZ have the cricket rights back and we’ve got an India series. It’ll be interesting to see the development around the first-class game.”
A Sky TV spokeswoman said: “We’ll be announcing our talent line-up in the next couple of months and will keep you posted.”
Other potential commentators include Ian Smith, Neil Wagner and potentially Katey Martin and Frankie Mackay.
Laura McGoldrick is a shoo-in as the presenter – she’s not only a cricket tragic, she’s one of the best sports presenters on television.
With her there, does that also open the way for a wild card – having her husband Martin Guptill on the commentary team would be too close to home, no doubt, but how about the couple’s close friend, Ross Taylor?
Long-running Horse & Pony v lawyer defamation case ‘resolved’
A long-running defamation case involving a now-defunct magazine and a lawyer is over, after eight years.
A High Court jury originally awarded lawyer Kristin Cato compensatory damages of $225,000 and punitive damages of $15,000 after it found Horse & Pony magazine defamed her in an article in 2017.
However, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision last June and ordered a retrial.
The court said there had been a “risk of a substantial miscarriage of justice” with the way a High Court jury heard certain information.
Horse & Pony magazine.
It said evidence provided by former TVNZ news boss Bill Ralston – in support of Cato, who claimed she had been defamed by the magazine – was irrelevant to the jury’s task and “unfairly prejudicial”.
The decision was seen as an important case for the media industry in that it covered a number of important principles, including the public interest defence and the level of damages awarded to Cato.
At the heart of the saga was the New Zealand showjumping team’s six-week tour of Australia in March and April 2017. It was an allegedly troubled tour, with some members of the team complaining about the conduct of others.
Eventually, the parties agreed to mediation between themselves without involving Equestrian Sports New Zealand (ESNZ).
Cato represented the complainants in mediation and on November 30, 2017, a statement was released saying the parties had reached a settlement.
It said details of the settlement were confidential except to the extent the sport’s authorities had been informed, the coach had agreed he would not hold any future role with Jumping NZ and his daughter, one of the team members, had apologised to the complainants for her conduct.
Horse & Pony magazine, which was not sent the statement, published an article on December 3, 2017, under the heading “What goes on tour doesn’t stay on tour”.
According to an earlier judgment, the article covered a range of angles – it backgrounded the tour, ESNZ’s response, the mediation hearing and how the statement came to be released. It raised questions about ESNZ’s role and Cato’s own work on the case, including her releasing the statement to a website owned by her mother.
In August 2022, a jury found the article was defamatory of Cato.
The jury did not agree with the position of the defendants – Horse & Pony publisher Manaia Media Ltd, editor Rowan Dixon and writer Jane Thompson – that the lawyer had suffered only minor harm.
It awarded Cato compensatory damages of $225,000 and punitive damages of $15,000.
Cato told Media Insider in 2023: “The impact of the article has been devastating, both professionally and personally.”
Dixon told Media Insider at the same time, after the awarding of damages: “It’s absolutely devastating … a hideous nightmare. We are a very small member of the media with a small magazine covering equestrian.”
In its decision last June, three Court of Appeal judges allowed the defendants’ appeal and ordered a retrial.
The Court of Appeal judges found the article met the public interest requirement of the defence and the High Court judge had understated the public interest in the subject matter.
However, the Court of Appeal said, it was “unnecessary to implicitly criticise Ms Cato in the manner and tone of the article and it fell short of being a responsible communication because of this”.
“We therefore agree with the judge that the public defence was not made out, albeit that we consider it was a more finely balanced case than the judge did.”
Now – almost 10 years on – the case is over.
“A notice of abandonment having been filed, the application for leave to appeal is abandoned,” says a court notice.
“A notice of abandonment having been filed, the application for leave to cross-appeal is abandoned.”
“I am not in a position to comment other than to confirm that the matter has been resolved,” said Daniel Nilsson, one of two lawyers listed on a court judgment as representing Cato.
Another well-known New Zealand defamation lawyer, Willy Akel, who had been one of two lawyers listed for the appellants, has been contacted for comment.
Horse & Pony has since closed.
Big moves in the advertising industry
One of New Zealand’s most respected and experienced media agency leaders has jumped ship from a global giant to independent agency Bastion Aotearoa.
Nicky Greville announced her departure from Publicis-owned Spark Foundry earlier this year, serving out a final six months, until last week.
She has been headhunted by Bastion, and starts there on July 1 as managing partner, media – the latest in a series of audacious recruitment moves by the Australasian indie agency.
Bastion Aotearoa chief executive Toby Sellers, right, and Nicky Greville, who has just left Publicis’ Spark Foundry.
Last year, it announced it had poached six high-flying agency staff from WPP-owned VML’s Wellington office; they have launched Bastion’s new offering in the Capital.
Greville launched and led Spark Foundry over the past five years, overseeing some of the country’s biggest media accounts including Toyota and – until recently – Westpac.
The rise of independent New Zealand advertising agencies such as Bastion, Special, Together and Motion Sickness is becoming more pronounced, especially as they start attracting major accounts.
A recent high-profile example was The Warehouse’s move to Together, from Omnicom-owned OMD.
Greville and Bastion Aotearoa chief executive Toby Sellers sat down with Media Insider this week to talk about her new role.
Sellers made no secret of the fact independent agencies were seizing the moment, as global agencies reconfigured their business models – we’ve seen big restructuring, mergers and lay-offs in the global businesses, affecting their operations in New Zealand.
READ THE FULL STORY AND INTERVIEW HERE
‘Is it scary? Absolutely’
Another big and well-respected name is also leaving a global ad giant.
OMG’s Georgina McKinnon.
“After 11 incredible years at Omnicom Media, I have decided it’s time for my next chapter,” OMG’s Georgina (Gina) McKinnon wrote on LinkedIn this week.
“Is it scary? Absolutely. But if you aren’t doing things that scare you, you aren’t growing. I’ve learned so much during my time here, and I’m excited to channel those skills into something new.
“First, though, I am looking forward to hitting the pause button.”
McKinnon has been the chief executive of OMG’s Apac contact team – a huge role that stretches beyond New Zealand.
“Between a demanding professional and personal life, there hasn’t been much time to stop and reflect,” she wrote.
“I’m kicking off this next phase with a month in the UK and Europe, including some fresh inspiration at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. I can’t wait to juggle a few less things!
“A quick note to my fellow Kiwis: Don’t let geography hold you back. You can absolutely run a regional role from New Zealand if you have the passion and energy. The opportunities are out there!”
In case you missed it
Stuff senior political correspondent Jenna Lynch and (inset) Speaker Gerry Brownlee.
One of the country’s biggest press gallery teams faces a possible temporary suspension from Parliament after the publication of a photograph of a National Party MP. The proposed suspension of members of the Stuff Digital team – according to the Parliament website there are seven accredited members including political editor Jenna Lynch and senior journalist Lloyd Burr – has sparked a letter of protest from senior press gallery editors and reporters. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Former TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman.
TVNZ is citing multiple reasons for refusing to release documents, internal emails and other correspondence into the events that led to the departure of political editor Maiki Sherman. It also says it can’t easily provide the number of complaints it’s received about its political gallery staff and their work. The state broadcaster has cited privacy, confidence and legal professional privilege among reasons for refusing to release any documents surrounding the resignation of one of its highest-profile employees. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
The student radio station that helped launch the careers of top broadcasters such as Matt Heath, Jeremy Wells, Mikey Havoc, Charlotte Ryan, Marcus Lush and Noelle McCarthy is moving from Auckland University’s campus for the first time in almost six decades. 95bFM – which only three years ago was selling part of its international vinyl collection to help keep it afloat – has announced it is relocating to Karangahape Rd by the end of next month. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Prinz Awards
Congratulations to all the big winners at the Public Relations Institute (Prinz) Awards last night, an annual showcase of New Zealand’s best public relations work. Here are the gold and major award winners.
Best use of digital and social media
Network Communication – National Blood Donor Week
Best use of media relations
Development West Coast – Changing the narrative in a contested sector
Best use of small budget for impact
Belle PR – Urban Miners Digital Graveyard – Tech or Treat
Corporate and business public relations
Convergence Communications – Regional Investment in Business Done Well
Community relations and engagement
Hamilton City Council – Election 2025 – Breaking Down Barriers
Government relations and public affairs
ProCare – Patient Voice: How patients drove the fight for fair GP funding
Convergence Communications – Regional Investment Done Well
Development West Coast – Unlocking minerals through trust and policy alignment
Marketing communication
FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – The Pollination Tour
FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – Worst Children’s Library
Anthem – Spark Kids: Launching New Zealand’s First Purpose-Built Kids Mobile Plan
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – Ake Ake Ake – 50 years of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
Sally Logan-Milne young practitioner of the year
Hannah Kronast
Excellence in research, measurement and evaluation
Belle PR for Urban Miners Digital Graveyard – Tech or Treat
PR in-house team of the year
CentrePort
PR consultancy of the year (small to medium)
Brainchild
The Shine Collective
PR consultancy of the year (large)
One Plus One Communications
Supreme award
Development West Coast for unlocking minerals through trust and policy alignment
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
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