Michael Burgess: Key sports TV should be free to see

Those without pay TV have missed pivotal moments in New Zealand sport like the Kiwis winning the Four Nations. Photo / Getty Images

There has been a lot of talk this week about television rights - on the back of Coliseum's swiping of golf from Sky TV - but it's time to focus on the rights of New Zealanders to watch televised sports.

For the past two decades or so, those rights have been ignored as more sport has been placed behind a pay television wall.

There are hundreds of thousands of kids (and adults) who didn't get to see the Kiwis' historic achievements last month, or Brendon McCullum's amazing double hundred against Pakistan recently.

We are getting a lot wrong when it comes to sports rights and it's time for a change.
You can't blame Sky. They broadcast a huge variety of sports and have cornered the market, thanks to helpful legislation (few, if any countries in the world allow a pay television network to own a free-to-air channel), a succession of inattentive governments and some brilliant strategic planning and implementation.

But what about those Kiwis who can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars a year on television subscriptions? Is it fair to lock them out of the enjoyment, passion and inspiration sport can provide?

We've been told pay television is the only way. It's the modern reality, as it funds sports.

That's true - to a degree - but it doesn't mean we can't tweak the model, because ours is a bit flawed. It's hard to think of any other country in the world where the national sport (usually football) is not shown live on free-to-air TV. That applies in South America,
Africa, Europe and Asia.

The UK, driven from a large licence-fee system, have the crown jewels system, keeping the FA Cup final, Wimbledon and the Grand National on state television.

Australia have a similar model. Why can't we?

It's not about Sky giving away their bounty. It's about a little treasure being shared around. What about one Bledisloe Cup match, rugby league's Anzac test, an All Whites international, a netball test, a Warriors match or two, a cricket ODI on free-to-air TV?

Sky wouldn't lose any subscribers but what a gain it would be for the rest of the country.

Is it really a coincidence that some of the most memorable, spine-tingling moments of the past few years (All Whites v Bahrain, 2011 Rugby World Cup, 2014 Football World Cup, 2013 America's Cup) have come when everybody can share in the emotions, the highs and the lows?