Heavyweight pay-TV network Sky New Zealand will continue to air games and competitions organized by governing body New Zealand Rugby (NZR) after renewing its domestic rights deal until 2030.
Under the new deal, which starts from 2026, Sky retains rights to broadcast matches involving the All Blacks and Black Ferns men’s and women’s national rugby union teams, as well as the men’s and women’s Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby Aupiki competitions.
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The agreement also includes the men’s annual National Provincial Championship and the women’s top-tier Farah Palmer Cup matches.
Specifically, the deal covers every All Blacks match played in SANZAAR countries, including the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championships, as well as new tours with South Africa’s Springboks, the new Nations Cup tournament, when finalized, and the 2029 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
For women’s rugby, the deal covers Black Ferns matches in SANZAAR countries and the British and Irish Lions Women’s tour in 2027.
The new deal comes despite recent reports that NZR was considering a switch to streaming service DAZN due to Sky's offer amounting to less than NZ$50 million ($29 million) annually. However, sources told the NZ Herald outlet last month that the deal is expected to be worth between NZ$75 million and NZ$80 million annually.
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By GlobalDataNZR chair David Kirk said: “The next five years are exciting for fans, with the best domestic competitions in the world and an amazing international calendar for our All Blacks and Black Ferns, including a men’s and historic first women’s British & Irish Lions tour.
“The Black Ferns will take part in a new international women’s calendar from next year that will see them play more Test matches against the best teams in the world. We also have some exciting announcements to make in the coming months to confirm the All Blacks calendar, including new competitions and tours.”
Meanwhile, public broadcaster Television NZ (TVNZ) has been announced as NZR’s free-to-air provincial rugby partner, covering the NPC and select Farah Palm Cup and Heartland Championship games.
The agreement will see TVNZ air 93 provincial matches on its TVNZ+ streaming service, with three games a week on linear channel TVNZ 1. The matches will also be shown live on Sky.
Not included in the agreements are up to five offshore All Blacks and Black Ferns Test matches across the 2026 to 2030 cycle. NZR said the exclusion will provide it with “the flexibility to generate significant additional income if confirmed.”
It added: “Rights to broadcast these matches will be negotiated on a match-by-match basis.”
Having locked down its domestic broadcast partners for the next cycle, Kirk said the governing body will now focus on securing international rights deals, adding: “Just as we have seen significant growth in international sponsorship, our focus is now on completing these important international broadcast partnerships, which will add to our record commercial, broadcast and match-day revenue.
“The next five years will see positive commercial growth internationally that will allow us to continue to reinvest back into rugby in New Zealand.”
