Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has agreed a carriage deal with beIN Media Group that will result in club football competition the English Premier League returning to television screens in the country in time for the 2016-17 season.
BeIN won the Premier League rights in New Zealand late last year, but has since been seeking to sublicense the rights to a local operator. Following months of speculation, Sky spokeswoman Kirsty Way today (Tuesday) told the Stuff.co.nz website that the broadcaster had agreed carriage deals for two beIN Sports channels.
One channel will show Premier League games, highlights and related shows in HD. The other channel will show matches from the Spanish Liga and France’s Ligue 1, as well as games from the Uefa Champions League and Europa League, and the Championship, the second tier of club football in England.
The two channels, together, will cost NZ$11.96 (€7.20/$8) a month and will be sold separately to Sky Sports. Way said Sky would not gain any revenue from the channels, with all of the money instead going to beIN. However, Stuff said Sky could still benefit financially from the deal if it helped retain or attract satellite television subscribers.
Way added that Sky would have up to three additional “pop-up channels” to show matches when fixtures clashed.