Sky and SANZAAR announce new broadcast deal
Sky to broadcast upcoming New Zealand tour of South Africa
At a glance
Sky secures TV rights for Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour and 2030 edition
The Rugby Championship in 2027, 2028 and 2029
Bledisloe Cup and other SANZAAR internationals
Covers both Ireland and the UK
Sky has announced a new broadcast deal with SANZAAR, the organisation that represents New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina.
Under the agreement, Sky will broadcast New Zealand's upcoming tour of South Africa, Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour, and the 2030 edition. The deal covers Ireland and the UK and includes all Test matches and New Zealand's matches against South Africa’s four main franchises.
The Bledisloe Cup and other fixtures involving SANZAAR teams will also be shown live on Sky, including the home international matches for Australia and Argentina in 2026. In addition, Sky has secured the rights for the Rugby Championship in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
According to The Times, Sky will not send its broadcast teams to cover these fixtures, nor use its own production or studio punditry teams.
Club rugby uncertainty
Unlike previous deals, Sky’s press release made no reference to New Zealand's National Provincial Championship (NPC) or South Africa's Currie Cup. Both of these domestic competitions were traditionally included in such deals so it remains to be seen whether viewers in Ireland and the UK will be able to view them going forward. It is also worth noting that both this season's Currie Cup and NPC are already underway.
Separately, Sky confirmed in a social media post earlier this year that the broadcaster will continue to show Super Rugby Pacific from 2026 to 2028.
The Rugby Broadcast take
While uncertainty remains over the future of the Currie Cup and NPC on TV screens in Ireland and the UK, this week's announcement from Sky will be welcome news for rugby fans.
According to The Times, this new deal represents an “increased multimillion-pound fee”. This is good news for New Zealand Rugby in particular, given that its latest deal with Sky NZ was worth an estimated NZ$85 million (€43m) annually, which is below the previous deal that was worth an estimated NZ$111 million (€55m) per year.
Another interesting angle to this new deal is the announcement from Sky that it has acquired ITV's Media and Entertainment division, subject to regulatory approval. ITV has secured numerous international rugby rights for the next few years, including the men's Rugby World Cup, Six Nations (shared with the BBC) and the new Nations Championship. As such, Sky-ITV's overall international rugby portfolio will make it the UK's biggest player in the international game. While Sky's commitment to rugby has waned in recent years, the acquisition of ITV could, by design or otherwise, change this approach and lead to further direct investment in rugby union.