Sky TV Wins Broadcast Rights For 2022 And 2026 Commonwealth Games

New Zealand pay-TV provider, Sky Television, has secured the rights to broadcast both the 2022 and 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Sky chief executive, Martin Stewart, said being able to broadcast Kiwis competing in Commonwealth and Olympics events was “incredibly important to us”.

The deal, which means the Commonwealth Games will return to Sky and Prime, adds to Sky’s existing agreement with the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) to cover the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games.

As a rights-holding broadcaster, Sky will deliver all the Birmingham 2022 events live on multiple Sky Sports channels, streamed on Sky Go (free for Sky customers) and Sky Sport Now.

“It is our privilege to have the Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games, and we’re delighted to now have the Commonwealth Games returning to Sky and Prime,” Stewart said.

“The deal also enables us to strengthen our longstanding partnership with the NZOC, and we look forward to working together to deliver these special events to New Zealanders.”

A key part of the deal is Sky’s ongoing commitment to free-to-air coverage of major international events.

“There will be a significant number of hours of live and curated coverage on Prime every day of the Commonwealth Games, including the special action involving New Zealand athletes.

“This commitment is consistent with Sky’s delivery of free-to-air coverage for previous international events,” Stewart added.

“Over 2.5 million New Zealanders watched our free coverage of the Rio Olympics in 2016, and 2.4 million watched our free coverage of Rugby World Cup 2015.

“Our promise on Birmingham 2022, as it is on our other major sporting events, is that we will deliver outstanding sport experiences for all New Zealanders.

“Those who want to see key moments free on Prime can do just that; sports fans who want to watch all the action across the wide range of events can do so on Sky Sport or stream it on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.”

Last month, Sky confirmed it had secured the right for Super Rugby and All Blacks matches until 2025 However, it has lost the rights to show Blackcaps and domestic cricket matches in New Zealand after 2020.