Why I’m taking on Spark Sport

Three weeks into the 2019 Rugby World Cup and Spark Sport is still facing customer backlash about streaming issues.

Complaints to the Commerce Commission continue to climb, a class action threat is being bandied around and celebrities are tweeting about their Spark Sport streaming woes.

But technology pundits say rugby fans were given ample time to be match ready and Kiwis should get used to streaming live sport because the new broadcast medium is here to stay.

West Auckland resident Gary said he cancelled his Spark Sport subscription after the South Africa-All Blacks game because he was unable to stream it on his 2018 LG TV.

He was refunded the $89 he paid for the subscription.

He said he was able to stream Netflix and Spark’s entertainment service Lightbox through his TV so he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t stream the rugby.

He was able to stream the rugby on his laptop but he did not want to watch on such a small screen. Instead he was watching delayed coverage on TVNZ.

This was the first RWC he had not been able to watch live.

‘‘It seems odd so many New Zealanders are precluded from watching the national sport.’’

Telecommunications Users Association NZ chief executive Craig Young said he had problems streaming the AustraliaFiji match on Spark Sport through his smart TV. Spark’s support centre had recommended a reset of his TV and he had not experienced any problems since.

The challenge Spark faced was the complexity of the delivery of the service and the range of variables with each household’s technology was so broad. ‘‘What we are seeing is how complex everybody’s home situation is. Everybody’s scenario is different.’’ He said Spark took a big gamble in bidding for the RWC and perhaps underestimated how complex the technology would be.

‘‘The problem is that they decided to showcase streaming services using the biggest and most riskiest tournament that could possibly happen for New Zealand.’’ Having its content provider overseas added a whole level of complexity Spark didn’t need, he said.

Social media and telecommunications commentator Paul Brislen said viewers had always faced problems when watching live sport. With Sky TV it was not uncommon for broadcast interruptions due to weather events. And problems with its streaming service SkyGo were often in the spotlight.

Streaming of live sport was here to stay. He predicted the 2023 Rugby World Cup would also be streamed.