Spark Sport
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@Crucial said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
It's starting to look like Spark have their streaming services working fine at a technical level having ironed out some of the kinks but the problems now lie (as predicted by many) with infrastructure and ISPs.
For starters anyone not on Fibre is going to cop some issues stemming from heavy demand. This could be at the home itself (other family members trying to watch something else while the rugby is on) and/or at the cabinet (or even ISP). We all remember those days where everything slowed down as neighbourhood kids arrived home from school and watched HD clips on YouTube. Well Sunday afternoon, parents want some peace and quiet at the end of the weekend and the kids dive on their tablets. Also anyone on WiFi and using their 2.4 band to cast to the TV are likely to get interference and buffering as someone starts using the microwave or using their cordless landline. All things that you often wouldn't notice except when intensely watching live sport (which you may be used to seeing in full HD)
To an extent this is also going to happen with some ISPs on Fibre as well as their switching equipment at the exchange gets heavily loaded. I bet that if you did a speedtest while the rugby is on you won't be getting the same speeds as normal.
What this comes back to is whether such a high demand event should have been the one to try and create a new way (for most people) with.Agree but who’s not on fibre now? Just rural?
I was down at the bach in the weekend and they are even putting fibre in down there in a coastal area
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@JK said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
@Crucial said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
It's starting to look like Spark have their streaming services working fine at a technical level having ironed out some of the kinks but the problems now lie (as predicted by many) with infrastructure and ISPs.
For starters anyone not on Fibre is going to cop some issues stemming from heavy demand. This could be at the home itself (other family members trying to watch something else while the rugby is on) and/or at the cabinet (or even ISP). We all remember those days where everything slowed down as neighbourhood kids arrived home from school and watched HD clips on YouTube. Well Sunday afternoon, parents want some peace and quiet at the end of the weekend and the kids dive on their tablets. Also anyone on WiFi and using their 2.4 band to cast to the TV are likely to get interference and buffering as someone starts using the microwave or using their cordless landline. All things that you often wouldn't notice except when intensely watching live sport (which you may be used to seeing in full HD)
To an extent this is also going to happen with some ISPs on Fibre as well as their switching equipment at the exchange gets heavily loaded. I bet that if you did a speedtest while the rugby is on you won't be getting the same speeds as normal.
What this comes back to is whether such a high demand event should have been the one to try and create a new way (for most people) with.Agree but who’s not on fibre now? Just rural?
I was down at the bach in the weekend and they are even putting fibre in down there in a coastal area
Availability doesn't equal connections by any stretch hence the advertising to get people to upgrade. Those on VDSL plans at say 30/10 see little need in normal day to day use to change but may feel some effects during a broadcast like this.
I probably didn't explain clearly in my waffling but my point was that fibre alone doesn't always solve the experience either.- there will still be bottlenecks somewhere during a high demand live event with some ISPs (they have to put their own switching equipment at exchanges and you get what they pay for.
- someone with a corded connection from router to TV will be better off than someone casting on a home wifi network, especially if they don't understand the likely speed differences between 2.4/5 and the potential for interference on 2.4. (eg dad has a TV set up in another room for the rugby using wifi and due to the distance/location of that room uses the 2.4 network and gets degraded signal and interference as, say, the microwave switches on).
- a live stream is a different beast to a streamed movie where a buffer can be built up ahead of your watching and you don't notice glitching. A live event is on constant feed and a glitch means you have to catch up on yourself.
Having a live streaming sports product is fine and the way of the future. Using a very high demand event to bring viewers on board and iron out the kinks (at both ends) was/is a very risky approach.
I have been watching on ITV via firestick which is wifi connected and even through a VPN it has been fine. However there has been the odd moment where quality hasn't been as great as a satellite broadcast. Just lots off opportunity for glitches basically.
EDIT: As an example of load, yesterday (7 Oct), a day with no NZ game on had peak traffic on the Chorus network alone equivalent to 400,000 HD videos. That shows how good the capacity in NZ is but also shows the potential for a small % to affect a reasonable number.
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@Chris-B said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
Sounds like Spark have nabbed the next six years of cricket from Sky.
For fucks sake, Sky - what use are you!
Can you back that up?? That will be the clincher for me getting rid of sport.
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@Chris-B said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
@Hooroo https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/black-caps/116458746/new-zealand-crickets-pending-major-announcement-arouses-spark-sport-speculation
That Suuuuuuucks!! One thing though it says all games played in NZ. Does that mean tours are still up for grabs?
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@Hooroo said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
@Chris-B said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
Sounds like Spark have nabbed the next six years of cricket from Sky.
For fucks sake, Sky - what use are you!
Can you back that up?? That will be the clincher for me getting rid of sport.
Do you mean Sky Sports or just sport in general.
If they don't upgrade the cable to my place it may well be the latter for me!
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@Chris-B said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
@Hooroo said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
@Chris-B said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
Sounds like Spark have nabbed the next six years of cricket from Sky.
For fucks sake, Sky - what use are you!
Can you back that up?? That will be the clincher for me getting rid of sport.
Do you mean Sky Sports or just sport in general.
If they don't upgrade the cable to my place it may well be the latter for me!
Super Rugby for 2020 will keep boring me I expect and with no Cricket and Premiership I have no use for Sky Sport
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@Bovidae said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
NZC selling their soul to the highest bidder. Do all of the Sky commentators now jump ship? Spark will have to provide all of the OBU infrastructure which is a totally different ballgame to streaming an overseas event.
I guess the details of who will do the production will emerge - but, that would be a pretty massive step away from their core business for Spark if they're going to do it themselves.
@Hooroo - I'll certainly be cancelling my summer subscription to Sky.
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Note the bolded section.
Spark is pleased to announce that from April 2020, Spark Sport will be the official rights partner for all New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) matches played in New Zealand, with TVNZ joining as the free-to-air partner for a selected number of T20 International and Super Smash matches.
The rights period is for six years and includes all international and selected domestic cricket matches played in New Zealand under the umbrella of NZC. This includes:
• All Blackcaps and White Ferns matches played in New Zealand;
• All Men’s and Women’s Super Smash matches (including semi-finals and final);
• The Ford Trophy final;
• The New Zealand Cricket Awards.The 2020-21 season will include visits from the West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia men’s team to New Zealand, in addition to the India and England women’s teams.
Spark Chief Executive, Jolie Hodson said, “Cricket is an iconic sport that has continued to innovate. So we’re excited to announce this new partnership with New Zealand Cricket, one that cements our place as a significant player in New Zealand’s sports viewing landscape.
“This partnership with NZC is another major step towards Spark’s strategy of building a profitable sports media business that offers viewers a range of premium domestic and international sporting events over Spark Sport at an affordable price and across an array of devices.
“At Spark, we believe that streaming is the future of sports viewing, so we are immensely proud to partner with NZC to stream world-class cricket across a range of series.
Spark Sport will give cricket fans access to a range of content including educational and coaching pieces, fan engagement content and review shows. Plus, Spark Sport will make available a range of highlights programmes on a free-to-view and paid basis.
NZC CEO, David White hailed the new agreement as ‘ground-breaking’ and a nod to the future, saying it was as much about catering for the demands of tomorrow as it was about the demands of today.
“This is a deal which future-proofs the whole of cricket in New Zealand,” said Mr White.
“Live streaming is the future. It allows viewers to free themselves from fixed linear schedules to watch live, delayed, highlighted or clipped content when and where they choose, and on a wide range of devices.
“Together with the free-to-air component provided by TVNZ, this accord means more cricket games than ever before will be broadcast live.
“It’s timely that we make this move now, at a time when more New Zealanders than ever – and especially young Kiwis, consume their sports content through digital devices.”
Spark Sport will be responsible for all aspects of delivering a world class production for NZC. Jeff Latch, Head of Spark Sport explains, “This will also be our most significant move yet into live sports production. We’re looking forward to bringing a fresh look and feel to the coverage of cricket, including an engaging commentary team, world class decision review systems, team and individual analysis and on-screen graphics.”
As the free-to-air partner for T20 Internationals and Super Smash, TVNZ will show a selection of matches on TVNZ. These include the first T20 International of each series live (BLACKCAPS and WHITE FERNS); two regular season Men’s Super Smash matches per week; and two regular season Women’s Super Smash matches per week.
Spark will also be the official telecommunications and technology partner for NZC, BLACKCAPS, WHITE FERNS and Super Smash.
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That just bloody sucks.
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It won’t be good for the consumer if cricket is split (home/away) between Sky and Spark.
I would also question whether there is room for two OBU set ups in NZ. The costs involved with that will drive consumers costs.
Battles like this for domination in such a small market are wasteful -
@Yeetyaah said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
Because the coverage will suffer form inexperience, viewership will go down, not everyone can get speeds good enough to stream and fragmentation fo rights means you need to pay more to watch cricket and rugby.
Your turn.. tell me how it is a good thing.
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@Yeetyaah said in And the winner of the RWC broadcasting rights is...:
I'll start.
Ads. I record the cricket and fast forward through the ads. This is really difficult with streaming due to not having a moving picture - just time. More important with cricket as they squeeze them between overs.
My internet connection is shit and is unlikely to change for the next 6 years. Buffering, freezing, restarting, all issues.
If people thought competition for sky was good, now we are likely to have to pay BOTH providers to get all of the content that I want to watch. I am at the moment for RWC.
I will think of more.
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I really don't think cricket lends itself to this type of platform. I stream it overseas and watch probably 50% less as a result. Nothing like sitting on the couch and watching a lazy session, rather than having to boot up the device, worry about the occasional buffer etc.
Sky should buy the NZ in Aus & T20 WC packages and sit tight until they can buy the rights back off Spark for pennies on the dollar in 2-3 years.
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@Baron-Silas-Greenback Not saying it's good or bad. I know a lot of people are complaining about Spark having RWC rights. Personally, I don't watch cricket so this doesn't bother me at all. I'm just curious on opinions.
