Sky TV drops grassroots rugby shows in blow to game

The likes of Taradale and Napier Old Boys Marist will no longer get coverage on Sky TV's Grassroots Rugby. Photo / Paul Taylor

Rugby has suffered a hit with Sky TV dropping the two shows that extensively cover the club and lower-level provincial scenes.

The Grassroots Rugby and Mainfreight Rugby programmes are amongst the longest-running on New Zealand television, their longevity and emphasis on normal lives seeing them dubbed the “Country Calendar of rugby”.

They were as much about the stories, personalities and homespun images as the games themselves.

Their demise may reflect rugby’s struggles to maintain its dominant position at the centre of New Zealand life.

But the decision also comes at a time when there are questions about the survival of local content on New Zealand television, particularly following the proposed closure of Newshub.

TVNZ was not interested in picking up the rugby shows, sources told the Herald.

It is understood that as per the minimum requirement in its New Zealand Rugby (NZR) contract, Sky will continue to show one lower-level Heartland provincial game a week - whereas the Mainfreight Rugby show covered all six. This coverage may be skewed in favour of smaller provincial teams closer to the big centres, one observer suggested.

The shows’ co-presenter Ian “Kamo” Jones, the great All Blacks lock, said he was in “shock” at hearing the news.

The provincial rugby programme started in 1999, propelled by the incredible rise of the tiny East Coast team that nearly secured first-division status. In those days, the show covered the old divisions two and three that morphed into the Heartland Championship, which splits between the Meads and Lochore Cups.

Grassroots, which initially covered club and school rugby, started a few years later.

The programmes were conceived and produced by husband and wife Graham and Marie Veitch.

They chose not to comment yesterday, but Jones said the programmes were important in keeping rugby healthy and connected to daily life. Only time would tell what impact their axing would have.

“Rugby needs a really wide base - the game is built from the ground up,” said Jones, who joined the shows about 20 years ago.

“And the clubs are important to the social fabric of our communities.

“Anecdotally, around the country, people have told me they love to watch the games, the laughs they get, how they love the stories, the rivalries and memories.

“It’s been a wonderful platform to showcase our national game and every All Black and Black Fern is connected to a club... unfortunately Sky doesn’t see that connection.

“Club rugby is important in helping develop a love of our game and the shows have been really important to that.

“And what’s the next step - getting rid of the NPC?”

Jones’ co-host Richard Mason believed overseas executives in key Sky positions may steer the platform away from local content.

“The worry is there will be less and less local stuff and more darts, hurling and snooker [on Sky],” Mason told NZME.

“They have already found cheaper ways to produce sport, off-site commentary and taking feeds from inexperienced streaming services that look like poop.

“Worryingly, they are saying grassroots sport doesn’t have a place in their ecosystem. Disappointing.”

Sky may have had a change of heart over the past couple of years.

Its head of sport partnerships, Irishman Adam Crothers, said in 2022 that “sport like Heartland rugby helps communities thrive and prosper and we are privileged to play our part”.

And Sky is downplaying any reduction in provincial coverage, telling NZME in a statement: “There are some changes to the way we’re doing things this year, but Sky remains committed to supporting grassroots rugby.

“We’ll continue to broadcast Heartland content each year - in conjunction with NZ Rugby - and our broader investment with NZR helps to financially support a number of community rugby initiatives.”