Ann: Half Year Results - Announcement Date, page-10

My thoughts on the whole SL angle are unchannged from earlier posts. The only difference is that now they seem to be buying a much smaller piece of the action (5-7.5%) instead of the 12.5%.

Obviously SL are going to want to maximise NZR revenue - especially by mleveraging the All Blacks brand as much as possible.

Local broadcast rights are only one component of that. A very important component, don't get me wrong, but still one of many levers they will be looking at to drive economic growth for NZR.

All we care about as Sky shareholders is related to the broadcast rights. Previous media articles have made a big fuss about SL's streaming capabilities, and that such a deal with NZR would automatically mean that they would use this capability to cut out the broadcaster and go direct. I have serious doubts about this strategy. More on that in a second.

More likely is that SL will insist (as much as they can as a minority shareholder) that NZR go out to market next time to get Spark Sport in on the bidding action. Maximise local broadcast revenue that way. Spark Sport would probably be be prepared to pay over the odds (like they seem to do with all major sporting contracts they bid for). So Sky TV would either pay a super premium to retain the rights, or they won't. Either way they would get a premium to what the rights are actually 'worth'.

That all sounds lovely, but NZR also have to ensure that whatever they do...it is in the long term interest of the game. This is where Sky TV, as a partner, stands head and shoulders above competitors. Say what you like about Sky, they do a tremendous amount for grass roots sport in NZ. And Sky TV are still (and will always be imo) the only company that can reliably broadcast a high quality live sport product to every NZer who chooses to subscribe due to their satellite infrastructure. New gen subs can stream using SSN if they want, but traditional Sky Sport is there for the less savvy and/or those with poor internet.

This remains a moat for Sky TV (the moat is significantly narrower than it once was, but it is still there!). Whether you dine on Eggs Benedict every morning at St Heliers Bay Cafe or traverse the rugged terrain of Stewart Island on a foraging expidition...Sky TV is the only company that can deliver rugby to all. This is particularly important to the rural comminities (the lifeblood of rugby in NZ).

So...what will happen once SL become a minority partner of NZR?

I have no idea. But what I do know is this - we should not automatically assume that it will be bad news for Sky TV.