Sky New Zealand, the country's dominant pay-TV broadcaster, has secured exclusive domestic rights to the 2026 Commonwealth Games multi-sport event.
The partnership with Sky, which also covers the Pacific Islands, includes coverage of the event for TV, streaming services, radio, and social media.
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Sky will deliver live coverage on its main Sky linear offering and Sky Sport Now platforms, as well as free-to-air on its Sky Open channel.
The broadcaster will also team up with local partners to deliver the games around the Pacific Islands.
The 2026 edition of the games will take place in Glasgow, UK, from July 23 through August 2, and will only feature 10 different sports (as well as para-iterations of six of those sports) staged across four venues.
This is due to Victoria, Australia (the original host of the event) pulling out of its commitment, forcing a short-term solution with Glasgow hosting a scaled-down running of the quadrennial games.
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By GlobalDataAthletics (track and field), swimming, artistic gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls, and 3×3 basketball will all be staged, alongside para-track cycling, para-athletics, para-swimming, para-powerlifting, para-bowls, and wheelchair 3×3 basketball at the scaled-down games.
Previous favorites such as hockey, rugby 7s, and all racquet sports, however, have not been selected for logistical reasons.
Katie Sadleir, Commonwealth Sport CEO, said: “Sky New Zealand has been a long-term partner of Commonwealth Sport, and we’re excited to continue our partnership for Glasgow.
“Glasgow will be the first event delivered under our reimagined games model, providing a bridge to the games of tomorrow – an important first step in our journey to reimagine and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future; one that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact.”
Sky NZ also held rights for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. Free-to-air broadcaster TVNZ had rights for the Gold Coast 2018.
Earlier this year, Australia’s free-to-air Seven Network snapped up exclusive media rights in the country to the 2026 and 2030 editions of the Commonwealth Games.
