NZ offers Pacific free-to-air rugby TV

SPORT is coming to the small screen in the Pacific after New Zealand prime minister John Key announced a free-to-air deal that would provide up to eight hours of coverage a day.

Key made the announcement at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) where leaders are meeting to discuss a range of issues including climate change, fisheries, health and human rights abuses in West Papua.

Yesterday Key announced high quality television content would be available to Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea from early next year.

This would give the Pacific nations access to selected Super 15 matches, Rugby Championship tests and ITM Cup matches along with news, documentaries and entertainment at a cost to taxpayers of NZ$400,000 (K717,000) a year.

The deal, funded by the New Zealand government, would not include rugby league a sport widely followed and played in PNG.

“Given the Pacific's love of sport we are particularly pleased that a number of sports rights holders, including SANZAR, have given their support to the project,” Key said.

The move comes on the back of the Australian Federal Government last year pulling millions of dollars of funding from a broadcaster contracted to provide content in the Pacific.

ABC was only one year into a 10-year broadcasting contract that was providing coverage to more than 46 countries in the Asia and Pacific region when the Government scrapped it because of concerns contract obligations were not being met.

Key said currently the Pacific has access to about 11 hours a week of free-to-air coverage and with an ageing population it made sense Pacific Islanders would want more news and sport available.

He acknowledged some Kiwis who did not have free-to-air sport would be frustrated by the announcement but said that came down to broadcasters like SANZAR choosing where to utilise their broadcasting rights.

“The decision for rugby to be included in that comes because of the generosity of SANZAR ... the explanation seems to be that a lot of rugby players come out of the Pacific and they’re very keen as the rights holders there to promote their support. The National / PNG Today