New Zealand Rugby’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) has quietly launched on its YouTube account.
The coverage started during the second round of the current 2026 season, with live streams of two to three fixtures now available worldwide, including Ireland and the UK.
Coverage of the NPC was a notable absentee from Sky’s new broadcast deal with SANZAAR. Traditionally, such deals included live coverage of a number of fixtures per round. It is unclear whether Sky acquired the rights and chose not to show any fixtures or if the NPC is seeking a new broadcast partner.
Existing deals
The NPC has the following broadcast deals in place for this season:
Australia: Stan Sports
New Zealand: Sky NZ and TVNZ (including TVNZ+)
Central and South America: ESPN
Canada: Premier Sports
South East Asia: Premier Sports
Fiji (and elsewhere, including Tonga): Fiji Broadcast Commission
The Rugby Broadcast take
The lack of a press release from New Zealand Rugby or coverage in the media suggests this move is a temporary one to ensure that coverage continues in countries with no broadcast deals in place. The NPC lacks local broadcasters in major rugby markets such as Ireland, the UK, France and South Africa.
On the other hand, while unlikely, this could be part of a long term strategy to provide free coverage on a global scale. In 2025, New Zealand Rugby announced a new broadcast deal with free-to-air provider TVNZ that runs until 2030. Under this new deal several NPC fixtures are shown live on linear television via TVNZ 1, while the broadcaster also streams every match for free on its streaming service TVNZ+. This new deal is proving popular among fans in New Zealand, with 1.16 million viewers over the opening two rounds this season.
Whether this move is a short term solution or long term play remains to be seen. In all likelihood, however, YouTube is being used to maintain visibility while new broadcasters are sought.