TVNZ, Sky and NZC win following announcement of telco's exit, but what does the future hold? PLUS: A single-issue Week That Was and Weekend That Will Be.
I know not everyone found Spark Sport to be a great sports watching experience, and it definitely irks me having to pay for multiple subscriptions to see all of the sports I enjoy, but I have to say their platform was vastly superior to Sky Sport Now for international motorsport - being able to watch Formula1 and Moto GP races on demand at a time that suits me was a godsend, as I can't manage the after midnight race starts and function at work the next day any more.
Contrast that with Sky's offering, where if I don't catch the World Superbikes within a day of the race actually happening I can only get a highlights package, which might capture all of the overtakes but none of the tension that make viewing enjoyable.
It was also good getting a consistent experience whether on my TV or laptop (or work computer...) whereas Sky seems to give up options depending on which platform you use. At least Sky have finally added a "watch from start" option to get rid of one of my bugbears using their service, trying to rewind from halfway through a rugby match while not looking at the score could drive me mad!
Even in these days of fibre and no data caps I still can't get my head around streaming one dayers and test cricket. Test cricket especially is great to have on in the background, popping in every so often to see what's happening but also knowing that you can do other jobs and not necessarily miss much.... With the buffering and other issues of streaming and casting to big screens, old fashioned TV seems to win. However if it is streamed then at least I don't have to fork out another subscription.
If Spark sport has achieved one thing it is making Sky realize that they aren't the only player in town. Now if only there was some international cricket on in NZ right now although with the weather and the white ferns struggling to complete games maybe it was a masterstroke by NZC to take this summer off shore....
Gotta be honest getting a smart tv (or Chromecast with remote) makes a big difference. Sky sport now is quite expensive but is pretty good. I feel like this is part of a wider streaming consolidation as the tech companies can no longer run these platforms at a loss.
Thanks Dylan for sharing your insights on the Southee appointment. I’m left with the impression that Kane was instrumental in the decision and maintain that (despite being at the presser for other reasons) he’d have been better to let Stead answer questions about the appointment but you’ve certainly enlightened me about the broader context, a bunch of things I wasn’t aware of.
As for Spark, we’re in a messy time. When a big game is on I can never remember whether I can watch it on Spark or Sky or free to air. I’m a cricket and rugby watcher and the whole thing is just too hard to follow, so I’m missing more games than I did when it was all on one platform. I think NZC made a huge mistake going with Spark, and yet I’m no fan of Sky’s distracted and diffuse broadcasting goals now too. Ideally I’d have a single provider covering NZC and NZR and simply focused on providing the best coverage with the most incisive analysts. I’m not interested in career frontmen / women, gender quotas or learning a new language.
"NZ Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock told the Herald that domestic cricket will be free-to-air on TVNZ and free-to-stream on TVNZ+. "
'Free-to-stream on TVNZ+' - hmmm, I wonder how much will be streamed vs broadcast? And its free, but the streaming functionality was another bugbear for some.
'Free to air' might not necessarily mean 5 days of Test match coverage on terrestrial telly like some seem to think
I know not everyone found Spark Sport to be a great sports watching experience, and it definitely irks me having to pay for multiple subscriptions to see all of the sports I enjoy, but I have to say their platform was vastly superior to Sky Sport Now for international motorsport - being able to watch Formula1 and Moto GP races on demand at a time that suits me was a godsend, as I can't manage the after midnight race starts and function at work the next day any more.
Contrast that with Sky's offering, where if I don't catch the World Superbikes within a day of the race actually happening I can only get a highlights package, which might capture all of the overtakes but none of the tension that make viewing enjoyable.
It was also good getting a consistent experience whether on my TV or laptop (or work computer...) whereas Sky seems to give up options depending on which platform you use. At least Sky have finally added a "watch from start" option to get rid of one of my bugbears using their service, trying to rewind from halfway through a rugby match while not looking at the score could drive me mad!
Even in these days of fibre and no data caps I still can't get my head around streaming one dayers and test cricket. Test cricket especially is great to have on in the background, popping in every so often to see what's happening but also knowing that you can do other jobs and not necessarily miss much.... With the buffering and other issues of streaming and casting to big screens, old fashioned TV seems to win. However if it is streamed then at least I don't have to fork out another subscription.
If Spark sport has achieved one thing it is making Sky realize that they aren't the only player in town. Now if only there was some international cricket on in NZ right now although with the weather and the white ferns struggling to complete games maybe it was a masterstroke by NZC to take this summer off shore....
Gotta be honest getting a smart tv (or Chromecast with remote) makes a big difference. Sky sport now is quite expensive but is pretty good. I feel like this is part of a wider streaming consolidation as the tech companies can no longer run these platforms at a loss.
Thanks Dylan for sharing your insights on the Southee appointment. I’m left with the impression that Kane was instrumental in the decision and maintain that (despite being at the presser for other reasons) he’d have been better to let Stead answer questions about the appointment but you’ve certainly enlightened me about the broader context, a bunch of things I wasn’t aware of.
As for Spark, we’re in a messy time. When a big game is on I can never remember whether I can watch it on Spark or Sky or free to air. I’m a cricket and rugby watcher and the whole thing is just too hard to follow, so I’m missing more games than I did when it was all on one platform. I think NZC made a huge mistake going with Spark, and yet I’m no fan of Sky’s distracted and diffuse broadcasting goals now too. Ideally I’d have a single provider covering NZC and NZR and simply focused on providing the best coverage with the most incisive analysts. I’m not interested in career frontmen / women, gender quotas or learning a new language.
I noted this comment:
"NZ Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock told the Herald that domestic cricket will be free-to-air on TVNZ and free-to-stream on TVNZ+. "
'Free-to-stream on TVNZ+' - hmmm, I wonder how much will be streamed vs broadcast? And its free, but the streaming functionality was another bugbear for some.
'Free to air' might not necessarily mean 5 days of Test match coverage on terrestrial telly like some seem to think