Digital free-to-air channel Sommet Sports has folded 18 months after launching in New Zealand.
Sommet said that anticipated funding for the venture failed to materialise, leaving the company attempting to deliver a nationwide “broadcast channel on one third of the finance.”
Since launching, the platform has broadcast coverage of football’s Uefa Europa League European club tournament and the top-tier German Bundesliga plus the MotoGP motorcycling series and the AFL Aussie rules league.
“I am totally gutted at not being able to sustain something that we have long held a fervent desire to deliver to New Zealanders,” Sommet director Andrew Reeves said. “Sommet was born from a dream to deliver free sports to all kiwis. Sadly this dream is not to be.”
He added: “Being the 'new kids on the block’ we also struggled to gain a strong foothold with most advertising agencies. This coupled with an acute funding shortage has left us with the sad reality of having to make the difficult call.”
Sommet launched on the Freeview and Sky Television platforms in March, but the company suffered a blow when it missed out on the rights to football’s English Premier League when start-up online subscription service Coliseum Sports Media struck a three-year deal in New Zealand from 2013-14 to 2015-16.