NZR rakes in the cash but still in the red

Financial report expected to show record revenue but big losses on FX and NZR+

Big-ticket items like match-day revenue saw big jumps in 2024. Getty Images

New Zealand Rugby is set to announce a loss just shy of $20 million for the year ending 2024, a number that sources indicate it will explain away to stakeholders as being “close” to break-even.

The loss comes amid record revenue of $285m, again calling into question its private-equity play, with a source saying it was further evidence that NZR does not and never had a cash flow problem, but instead has a “cash-allocation issue”.

This is a problem that it doesn’t appear any closer to solving and in fact might become more acute as NZR faces a future where it hands over a chunk of its revenue in perpetuity to Silver Lake while receiving significantly lower broadcasting rights fees.

NZR collected $100m from broadcast rights in 2024, a big jump on the $86m from 2023, though they are expected to take a hit going forward. Sky are said to be negotiating a significantly lower annual fee amid a global softening of the rights market and having further leverage without the local threat of Spark Sport competing for sports content.

The loss has been largely sheeted to two factors: foreign exchange volatility that accounted for about $8m of the loss and $11.5m “investments” in commercial initiatives, mostly content for its struggling direct-to-consumer platform NZR+.

The Bounce has spoken to people familiar with the accounts and four topline observations have emerged:

1. Provincial unions, including both NPC and Heartland, have faced a 7 percent drop in funding over the year from $43.4m to $40.5m. Super Rugby clubs, on the other hand, have seen their funding levels rise 24 percent, from $4.3m to $5.4m and spending on teams in black leapt from $76m to $84m.