An increasingly hard watch

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Over the past 12 months, this particular test-cricket addict has received his fix from the following: TVNZ, Sky, ICC.tv, Disney+, YouTube and at least one dodgy stream that occasionally ‘flashed’ up ads that would slip into the NSFW category.

Late this month when New Zealand tours Zimbabwe I will be able to add ThreeNow to the list.

“We are stoked to have secured these rights, allowing fans to enjoy these exciting matches live and free,” says Warner Bros Discovery content director Matt Barthow. “Sport is an important pillar of our content offering, bringing large audiences together in real time and creating shared national moments.”

It goes without saying that it’s better to have the tour covered than not, but the continued fracturing of the cricket viewing experience is, at best, bloody annoying.

At worst it is negligence.

To quickly recap in a detail free way:

• In 2019 NZC made the momentous decision to sign a six-year deal with new-streamer-on-the-block Spark Sport, a dollars-and-cents decision that alienated some fans, particularly older ones in rural areas with less than reliable internet service;

• Freaked out by the negative PR that resulted from an interruption to its coverage during the 2019 Rugby World Cup opener and a new executive team not as wedded to a sports streaming strategy as the previous one, Spark Sport announced it was exiting the market in 2023;

• In an enormous stroke of fortune for NZC, TVNZ struck a deal for Spark’s sports book. This meant NZC got paid in full while reaching the sort of audience they could only dream about behind a paywall;

• With the price for bilateral cricket rights softening and an assumption that TVNZ would not be in a position to tender a competitive offer, NZC took advantage of a Sky board and exec desperate for some positive headlines to sign back with the subscription broadcaster from the 2026-27 season through to 2031-32.

If banking cheques was the only plank worthy of consideration in a rights-holding strategy, you’d have to say New Zealand Cricket has played a masterful hand over the past seven or so years. As a cautionary tale, however, Richie Rich will tell you that having all the money in the world can only partially ease the pain of having no friends.