In a move that "threatens to reshape New Zealand's sporting and broadcast landscapes," New Zealand Rugby is expecting Amazon to "throw its hat in the ring and compete for the next round of rugby broadcast rights," according to Napier & Nippert of the NEW ZEALAND HERALD. SANZAAR's formal bidding process for rights to screen provincial, Super Rugby and test match rugby from '21 is "slated to be under way by April next year, an earlier-than-usual start time to allow new overseas players -- Amazon's Prime Video streaming service being the most notable -- to address not-insubstantial infrastructural issues." A source familiar with the internal workings of NZ Rugby said that Amazon's interest had been "obvious for at least a year." The source added, "I knew they were sniffing around, wanting to do a documentary, but clearly a bid for the broadcasting rights was in the background." Given the "sensitivity of these developments" to the prospects of NZ Rugby and incumbent broadcaster Sky Network TV, "commercial confidentiality was invoked across the board" in response to questions last week. But an analysis of official company filings and interviews with financial analysts, broadcasters and NZ Rugby insiders "cast light on preparation for large-scale disruption to rugby and media markets." Market chatter continues to "link Amazon with a bid for the English Premier League, a significantly more expensive proposition than rugby." Amazon soft-launched its Prime Video service in New Zealand in December, and filings with the Intellectual Property Office show "at the same time it also registered trademarks for its brand" in the country (NZ HERALD, 9/2).
