Heavyweight pay-TV network Sky New Zealand has retained its broadcast rights to premium properties in golf and rugby union.
Sky NZ will cover the British and Irish Lions’ much-anticipated tour of Australia across June, July, and early August, while it has also unveiled a six-year deal for US golf’s PGA Championship – one of the four annual majors.
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Sky’s coverage of that event, which will take place between May 15 and 18 in North Carolina, will include six daily hours of live action, as well as clips and highlights.
The Lions’ tour of Australia, meanwhile (with the touring side to be selected from English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish players), will include three test matches and six warm-up games, all of which will be shown live on Sky NZ. They will be available on the linear Sky Sport network, as well as through the streaming app Sky Sport Now.
Sky NZ is a long-standing partner for both the Lions (who last toured New Zealand in 2017 and will do so again in 2029), and the PGA Championship.
The renewals come with Sky NZ having emailed customers yesterday, about a rise in the price of their sports package subscriptions by almost 12% monthly – from NZ$42.00 (around $24) to $47.00.
Sky NZ’s sport package last had its monthly price rise last February.
Jonny Errington, Sky NZ’s chief content and commercial officer, has said, on the PGA Championship deal: “Sky customers love their golf – and the PGA Championship is one of the golfing highlights of the calendar. We’re pleased to confirm that we’ll be carrying this acclaimed competition for the next six years – as we have done since 1999.”
Sky NZ is the primary rights-holder for golf in New Zealand, showing all four majors, as well as the PGA Tour, the European DP World Tour, and this year's upcoming Ryder Cup team event in the US.
In the US, meanwhile, a combination of Paramount and ESPN will provide domestic coverage of the iconic event.
Ben Calveley, chief executive at the British and Irish Lions, commented on their deal with Sky NZ: “New Zealand is one of the great rugby nations of the world, with a hugely passionate and engaged rugby fan base. So it is fantastic that Sky Sport will once again bring the action to audiences across New Zealand as millions tune in to watch the action around the globe.”
The tour will also be shown by Sky in the UK and Ireland, while in Australia rights are yet to be sold.
The first tour game will take place on June 28 in Perth, with the three tests being held on July 22, July 26, and August 2.
In terms of its other rugby union coverage, Sky NZ also has a four-year domestic deal in place with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) – understood to be for around $60 million annually.
However, it has been reported over the last few weeks that NZR is considering a switch to streaming service DAZN for the next cycle (between 2026 and 2030). Sky’s offer, reportedly amounting to less than $50 million annually, is considered below-par for the number of games and series to be played by the country’s iconic All Blacks men's national team during that period.
The next cycle includes the 2027 Rugby World Cup, as well as the aforementioned Lions tour.
For the 2023 Rugby World Cup – in which New Zealand lost to South Africa in the final – Sky NZ made a number of the games available free-to-air.
In terms of recent Sky NZ rights activity, meanwhile, earlier this month the broadcaster extended its rights deal with the Cricket Australia (CA) governing body for the next four Australian summers.
Through this renewal, Sky NZ will continue as the exclusive New Zealand broadcast partner for top-tier international cricket (as well as select domestic matches) played in Australia during the next rights cycle.
