America's Cup divorces TVNZ after 30 years of live Cup TV coverage

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 19 Feb 2016 The America's Cup Events Authority has announced that Sky TV has acquired the exclusive rights to America's Cup coverage, breaking a 30-year tradition with free to air broadcaster, Television New Zealand.

The Sky TV coverage will begin with the next America's Cup World Series event in Oman, and will continue through to the end of the 35th America's Cup.

In the 34th America's Cup the TVNZ coverage drew the largest TV audience for any broadcast in New Zealand history.

Television NZ is the pre-eminent NZ TV broadcaster and is a state-owned enterprise which pays a substantial dividend to the New Zealand Government, however, it is independent of Government control.

TVNZ had live broadcast every America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup Race (once the Semi-Finals started) sailed since 1987 and led the development of sailing broadcasting in many areas, including the commissioning of the ARL-developed graphics package.

Sky TV covered the 1988 and 2010 America's Cup Deed of Gift Matches, but for multi-challenger events TVNZ has been the exclusive rights broadcaster. Until 2003, TVNZ worked closely with Emirates Team NZ and its predessors providing a contra advertising deal for the NZ based team sponsors as part of TVNZ's sponsorship package with the team.

The innovative deal worked across several America's Cup and other major sailing campaigns, but ceased in 2003.

TVNZ played a substantial role in host broadcaster provision in the 2000 and 2003 America's Cups in New Zealand.

It was rumoured that for the current America's Cup, organisers sought the same price TVNZ paid for the 34th America's Cup but for substantially less content. Certainly TVNZ was considered to have put a good offer on the table which was rejected by ACEA. Whether ACEA obtained its price will remain confidential and subject to rumour.

However, there is no doubt that Sky TV have acquired the NZ rights to highly valuable broadcast property and one which has a substantial and technically knowledgeable audience in New Zealand. Sky TV has a subscriber base of about 850,000 and its offerings include a well established mobile and remote viewing application.

TVNZ are a free to air broadcaster while SkyTV is a subscription only broadcaster, but with a free-to-air channel in Prime TV. It is expected that the America's Cup coverage will also be re-broadcast on Prime TV, possibly slightly delayed.

The change to a territorial TV rights holder will give New Zealanders the ability to record coverage and replay at a more hospitable hour.

At this stage, it is not known if Sky TV plans just to run the standard ACEA America's Cup feed, or if a New Zealand commentary and production will be involved as has happened with the previous America's Cups and other major sporting events.

In a written statement issued by Sky TV last night, Director of Sport Richard Last said: 'The last America’s Cup had the entire country watching as Emirates Team New Zealand came within a race of bringing the Cup back to New Zealand.

“We are proud to be the exclusive broadcast partner for this edition of the America’s Cup, as we follow Emirates Team New Zealand through the qualifying events towards the finals in Bermuda in June 2017,” the statement in concluded.

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series continues with the first event of 2016 on February 27-28 from Muscat, Oman. The Live coverage will screen on Sky Sport and be supplemented with replays and highlights.

A saving grace of the announcement will be that New Zealand audiences are no longer inflicted with the iPad or mobile phone coverage as their only option of viewing one of the leading sports in New Zealand in terms of public following and television coverage. ACEA routinely blocks the app in regions where territorial rights have been purchased by a TV broadcaster.

Sky Sport will continue its coverage across this year’s Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events in New York (May 7-8), Chicago (June 11-12), Portsmouth, UK (July 23-24), and Toulon, France (September 10-11).

In May and June of 2017, the action shifts to Bermuda for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Qualifiers and Challenger Playoffs as well as the America's Cup Match presented by Louis Vuitton, where the top challenger will take on defending champion, Oracle Team USA.

Live coverage of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series first event of 2016 from Muscat, Oman on Sky Sport:

Day 1: Saturday 27 February, 11.00pm (NZT) – SKY Sport Pop-up Channel 055

Day 2: Sunday 28 February, 11.00pm (NZT) – SKY Sport Pop-up Channel 055