Annoyed, angry - How Kiwis feel about World Cup streaming

Recent research conducted by Opinion Compare, for BroadbandCompare.co.nz asked a range of questions about streaming habits and the upcoming Rugby World Cup and the results were pretty clear cut.

When it comes to watching the All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup, the message is clear… if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

The survey, which was completed by a total of 1,250 New Zealanders and has been weighted to represent age, gender and the regional profile of New Zealand delivered some thought provoking insights.

Of those that completed the survey, upon hearing they would need a Spark Sport subscription to watch the Rugby World Cup this year, most respondents indicated a negative response (57%). Most likely to be negative to the news were the 65+ age group (67%).

31% were annoyed, 16% were angry, 8% devastated, 7% sad and 18% just mildly displeased.

Just 14% of respondents were positive - 8% were happy, 8% were optimistic, 3% relieved and 2% thrilled. Those under 35 were most likely to be positive about the news (26%).

As an interesting subset, Sky customers were significantly more likely to have had negative feelings (69%) upon hearing they need to be subscribed to Spark Sport to watch the Rugby World Cup and 56% of those Sky customers were not planning on signing up for a Spark Sport subscription.

But what about the Spark Sport product?

68% of over 65’s that are planning on watching the World Cup said they are NOT planning on signing up to Spark Sport. Considering the survey showed they are the most likely to be watching games at home this is going to be an issue with only limited matches available on terrestrial TV.

There’s also not a lot of confidence in Spark Sport’s ability to deliver a seamless World Cup experience for customers. Just 11% of those planning on watching the World Cup indicated that they were extremely confident (rated 8 or 9 on a 9 point scale) it would go well. Those under 35 are the most confident - with 14% extremely confident in Spark’s ability, but just 8% of those over 55 are confident.

Half (50%) of Sky customers are not confident that Spark Sport will deliver a seamless experience for the World Cup, rating between 1-4 on our 9 point confidence scale.

Spark Sport customers are still on the fence about Spark Sport offering a seamless experience. 47% rated between 5 and 7 on our 9 point scale with an additional 37% being unconfident (rated 1-4).

For those that already have a Spark Sport subscription or that are planning to get one before the World Cup, 60% will wait to see how Spark performs to decide whether to keep their subscription or not.

Potentially worrying for Spark is that 31% of those that have a Spark Sport subscription or that are planning to get one before the World Cup are going to leave immediately after the games finish and New Zealand flies home with the Webb Ellis Cup.

So in closing, whatever the nation thinks about Spark Sport’s abilities, there are things that you can do to maximise your chance of a seamless Rugby World Cup streaming experience. Broadband Compare ( https://www.broadbandcompare.co.nz/) is the place to go to make a fully informed choice on your broadband plan. Compare hundreds of broadband plans online or speak to a member of the team for help and we’ll make sure you’re in the best seat on the streaming plane to Japan.

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