14 Oct 2019

Sky TV boss rules out more shares for rights deals

From Checkpoint, 6:20 pm on 14 October 2019

The boss of Sky TV has ruled out giving away any more Sky shares to secure other sports rights after sealing the Sanzaar rugby deal with a 5 percent shareholding in the pay TV network for NZ Rugby.

Sky won't say exactly how much it paid to get the five-year contact that includes broadcast rights for rugby in New Zealand, including the Black Ferns and provincial games.

But Sky says it's a "record investment" - including the more than $18 million worth of shares.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of the pay TV broadcaster losing out to Spark for the rights to screen cricket played in NZ - and obviously the current Rugby World Cup.

Spark never got to throw its cheque in the ring for this Rugby - because Sky got first dibs on negotiations as the incumbent rights holder.

Lisa Owen talks to Sky TV chief executive Martin Stewart at the firm's Auckland headquarters and asked whether the price he paid for the rugby rights was enough to hurt.