NRL & Super Rugby games on free-to-air TV each weekend

Good news for Kiwi sports fans as another dose of free sport will hit screens this month - with new Friday Night Footy for NRL and Super Saturday rugby matches launching on Sky Open from Saturday February 24.

Friday Night Footy will see 25 NRL games shown free on Sky Open (formerly Prime) this season, with seven of those being Warriors matches, plus three further additional free matches, for Anzac Day, Magic Round & State of Origin I.

Rugby fans will see 19 Super Rugby Pacific matches free on Sky Open, kicking off with Highlanders v Moana Pasifika on Saturday February 24 at 7.05pm.

During the 2024 season, every Friday night there will be a free NRL match to watch, and every Saturday night there will be a free Super Rugby Pacific match.

Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now subscribers will view all matches playing live and no advertising during play, while the free-to-air matches will have the same live start time as paid Sky Sport broadcasts and will have advertising throughout the match.

The Sky Open broadcasts will start at the same time as the live kick-off but become progressively delayed when advertisements play, with the aim that advertising doesn’t interrupt game time and fans get to see every minute of play. Sky says on average the delay will be around 12 minutes by the end of the match, with three-minute ad breaks during the game.

Sky says this is designed to deliver the best possible viewer experience while allowing for more advertising than their paid products, to fund the cost of bringing this sport content free-to-air.

Sophie Moloney, Sky CEO, said building on the Warriors success in 2023 as well as Kiwi fans love for rugby was a driving force behind the move.

“The Warriors had a huge season in 2023 and excitement is really building for the 2024 season. And Super Rugby is a perennial favourite for our customers. We’re excited to launch Friday Night Footy and Super Saturday on Sky Open, so that more New Zealanders can watch more of the games they love for free from the first whistle.”

Warriors CEO Cameron George said: “We were blown away by the support that we experienced in 2023 from Kiwi fans and can’t wait to build on it in the upcoming 2024 season. It’s awesome to see this initiative from Sky to create free ‘Friday Night Footy’ on Sky Open, offering more Warriors and NRL matches free-to-air, as it will help to engage even more New Zealanders this season.”

Super Rugby Pacific Chair Kevin Malloy said: “DHL Super Rugby Pacific 2024 is set to ignite rivalries and engage fans right from round one. There is a lot for fans to get excited about and ‘Super Saturday’ is a great way to offer DHL Super Rugby Pacific to more New Zealanders, with a free match on offer every Saturday night. We’re looking forward to the season kicking off with the first ‘Super Saturday’ match on Sky Open, with the Highlanders versus Moana Pasifika.”

How to watch free-to-air NRL and Super Rugby Pacific in NZ
Sky Open will show 28 NRL games and 19 Super Rugby Pacific matches for free, with ‘live start’ advertising. A further 26 NRL games & 6 Super Rugby games will be available on Sky Open with a delayed start.

Over on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now, paying customers will be able to watch all matches live across both tournaments; this includes 213 matches over 31 rounds for the NRL Premiership, and 91 games across the Super Rugby Pacific.

Sky Open, formerly known as Prime, is available on Freeview channel 15, Sky channel 4, and content on Sky Open can be streamed free via Sky Go (on web or the Sky Go app).

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission