Southern Hemisphere Rugby Union Coverage

[TomJ123]

FYI for those who were looking for super rugby this season...

I have found this online posted one hour ago - https://www.rugbyworld.com/tournaments/superrugby/how-to-watch-super-rugby-pacific-137454

https://sanzaarrugby.tv/

Seems that this is possibly the 2022 version of Rugbypass and it says all 91 games are being streamed for a season pass price of £49.99. I have not looked too much into the authenticity of it yet but on the face of it it seems quite legitimate.  

[graceland22]

My problem is that ( rather than getting up at a silly hour) I need to be able to download / save, or know that I can stream ALL games at anytime. That was the good part of the Sky coverage.

TomJ123@

[D+Brewster]

My problem is FIFTY QUID! If it was the only TV to subscribe to, ok, but on top of everything else, another £50 is insane.

[ukflyboy]

Sky were trying to charge me almost twice that per month! 

[graceland22]

I have looked at Sanzaar site and last seasons games (ALL competitions and internationals) are there to view so it would seem that there is access to the games on demand at any time. It would seem that they are committed till 2025. They may even include any northern / southern hemisphere RU that we lost to Prime (another bone of contention / cost).

I already pay for Sky Sports and BT Sports on my Sky subscription and incurring another £50 would incur the wrath of my wife I think.

I am getting some of the French Top 14 replays on Freesports and some of the URC on S4C. I could drop BT and watch the Premiership highlights package on free-to-air and it would then be cheaper to get the Sanzaar package and watch on laptop via HDMI on my tv or through a smart tv Sanzaar site, if that is an option. Is that a better deal I ask myself?

The Catch22 problem with the sports subscriptions through Sky is that you cannot get at them, on the move, through the NOW or BT Sports apps even though you are a sports subscriber. If you subscribe to the apps, then you cannot get at them on your tv / Sky box. I can to use my laptop and Sky Go with a VPN whilst abroad.

Postie1@ 

TomJ123@

[japitts]

You've highlighted some very valid points with fragmentation of the sports rights market. Having a couple of major "premium" players (BT & Sky in this case) works well, with Eurosport heading up the rear.

I'm hoping that (ideally) Sky or perhaps BT, show interest in the Sanzaar internationals when they come up - only time will tell if that's a realistic proposition, but I totally understand why the club games are too niche to bid for separately.

[graceland22]

Looking at this weekend there are only 3 Premiership RU matches live on BT Sport / Sky. The red button is not available on the Sky package if they broadcast simultaneously so it is very much a 2nd class service. The highlights package is there, and only a bit longer than the free-to-air one. I am paying £24 per month (after a £3 'loyalty' reduction), so the Sanzaar package looks like a bargain if I ditch BT Sport from Sky. But I lose the Heineken Cup matches as well as the premiership.  Is it a good trade-off?

@japitts

@Postie1

[lfc1949]

first time of doing this but i have to try some how does anybody no if sky sports are going to show super rugby from the southern hemisphere this year and if this is not the correct platform to ask on what is. only the season kicks off tommorow and i can't seem to find any information out at all.

[SKY1992bf]

@lfc1949  I think rugby pass have secured the rights 

correction : sanzaar's own uk streaming service may have the rights

[graceland22]

You can get a mini-fix for free by watching 5 mins hightlights here - https://super.rugby/superrugby/media-centre/ 

[GraeRus]

I've given up with Sky cancelling my subscription. Other than Southern Hemisphere rugby I only watch F1. I can see highlights of super rugby in YouTube. And I can get F1 on Channel 4 and it marginally better than SkyF1 

[Doc5907]

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@GraeRus wrote:

I've given up with Sky cancelling my subscription. Other than Southern Hemisphere rugby I only watch F1. I can see highlights of super rugby in YouTube. And I can get F1 on Channel 4 and it marginally better than SkyF1 

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Apart from the fact its not live and only highlights (except Silverstone), not in UHD, is riddled adverts during race, no Ted's notebook and half the time slot is taken up by 'studio analysis'.......  

[graceland22]

This thread is about southern hemisphere RU coverage not F1.

[Postie1]

It just looks like after the Lions tour Sky aren't interested in any form of rugby. It'll be there loss as sure the likes of BT, Amazon or premier sports will eventually snap up the super rugby competition. 

The SKY NRL contract runs out at the end of the season, who knows if they'll fight to keep that as they have the Superleague. Personally the NRL is a far better competition, as was Super Rugby, and they have turned their back on that. All money seems to be focused on Football, F1 & NFL at the moment

[GraeRus]

I can live with that they just talk for the sake of it and repeat themselves. I also ready Mark Hughes report in Motor Sport magazine. Teds notebook only came back because people objected when it was stopped so my guess is Sky aren't wedded to it and probably will stop it at some point