Cricket-starved New Zealand viewers must brace for platform ping-pong as soon as next week, with Spark Sport in the box seat to live stream international cricket’s return.
England hosts West Indies at Southampton in the first of three tests starting on Wednesday (10pm NZT) with no New Zealand broadcast rightsholder as yet confirmed to screen the first international since the Black Caps’ ODI loss to Australia in Sydney on March 13.
One thing is certain after a confusing few days: the England v West Indies series won’t be shown on Sky Television after it was advertised on its website under the ‘Cricket on Sky Sport’ section as recently as Thursday.
A spokesperson for Sky told Stuff: “We discovered that we had an error on our website which has since been rectified.”
Sky’s broadcast deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board expired at the end of last year, the spokesperson said.
It appears the confusion may have arisen from Sky holding the rights to international cricket played in the West Indies.
In any case, it leaves the door wide open for Spark Sport to pounce on the ECB deal and show the West Indies and subsequent Pakistan series as its first live cricket content.
Stuff understands Spark is well placed to secure the rights in coming days, but in response to questions on Friday a spokesperson said: “Currently Spark Sport does not have these rights, but if that changes we will let our customers know”.
After Sky’s two-decade run as the go-to network for cricket, Spark Sport secured broadcast rights to all domestic and international cricket played in New Zealand (except ICC world tournaments) for the next six years.
Spark took the reins in April and has shown highlights packages and player interviews on its streaming platform, but no live matches as yet as the world awaits cricket’s return amid Covid-19. Spark Sport is yet to announce a production partner and its commentary team for the home summer, scheduled to start in November.
Assuming Spark secures the England rights it leaves Kiwi cricket tragics in a tricky and potentially costly spot to pay two subscriber networks for their fix.
Sky noted it still has the rights to international cricket in South Africa, West Indies, Australia (including the Big Bash) and India (including the Indian Premier League), as well as ICC tournaments including the Women’s World Cup scheduled to be played in New Zealand in February-March.
“As advised, there is plenty of quality cricket for fans to enjoy on Sky,” the spokesperson said, pointing out commentators Ian Smith and Mike Hesson were still part of their team.
International cricket’s schedule for the rest of the year remains up in the air, pending an ICC decision this month on the men’s Twenty20 World Cup. It is scheduled for Australia in October-November but is almost certain to be postponed.
The lucrative IPL is being discussed as a possibility to take up that October-November slot.
NZ Cricket chief executive David White told Stuff last month he was confident of a full home international season starting in mid-November and featuring tours by West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia.
The White Ferns (in September) and Black Caps (in January) are both scheduled to tour Australia for ODIs and T20 internationals, which would both be screened on Sky due to its rights deal with Cricket Australia.
