Media Insider: Sky TV cuts from Jai Arrow NRL coverage, broadcasts a gambling ad instead - viewers vent their fury

Seconds later, Sky TV cut its live coverage to a Betcha betting ad. By the time live coverage returned - one minute, 20 seconds later - Arrow was on the field.

The outrage from New Zealand viewers erupted immediately and widely on Friday night - and now into the weekend - with many labelling the coverage a disgrace.

“F***ing useless flops going to ad break when Jai Arrow is walking out for his last game,” wrote one fan on X.

“Oh my god... Jai Arrow was walking out the tunnel and Sky NZ plays an ad and a gambling ad,” wrote another.

Others commented: “Someone is getting fired” and “Embarrassing”.

“Probably the worst thing I’ve ever seen on Sky,” said another.

Sky has apologised for the gaffe, pointing to an inadvertent advertising scheduling error.

Arrow announced his retirement from the NRL in May after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, ending a rugby league career that included - at that time - 178 NRL games for several clubs and 12 State of Origin appearances for Queensland.

Arrow has been allowed to play his 99th and 100th matches for the South Sydney Rabbitohs over the past two weeks by way of special dispensation from the NRL and the Rabbitohs’ final two opponents - the Titans last weekend and the Roosters last night.

Last night, he walked out to Stand By Me and You’ll Never Walk Alone as the Rabbitohs took on the Roosters at a sold-out Allianz Stadium. It was a deeply emotional moment, with plenty of tears.

He appeared on the field for several seconds before being subbed off.

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a progressive neurological condition that damages the nerve cells controlling movement, gradually affecting a person’s ability to walk, talk, swallow and breathe. There is currently no cure, and average life expectancy is two to five years from the start of symptoms.

Across the NRL and other sporting codes, players and athletes this year celebrated tries or goals with a slingshot-arrow celebration, in honour of Arrow.

“We apologise to fans who missed part of Jai Arrow’s pre-match celebration during our coverage and share their disappointment,” Sky said in a statement.

“The ad break that played over the celebration was the result of a scheduling error and was not deliberate.

“We know how important this moment was to fans and we regret that the full celebration wasn’t shown live.”

Late on Friday night, Sky TV also posted to Facebook and Instagram a full video of the walkout. “We know we missed a big moment, and we’re really sorry you didn’t get to see it live. Here’s Jai Arrow’s celebration in full.”

It did not allow comments on the post.

In a further statement to Media Insider, Sky said it got it “seriously” and “badly“ wrong and it was “deeply sorry”.

“It was a mistake, and an awful one, given the poignancy of the moment,” said a spokeswoman.

“We understand how important this moment was to Jai Arrow, his family and fans, and we sincerely regret that it wasn’t shown in full live.

“We are reviewing exactly how this happened and what we need to change to prevent it happening again.

“We’re also looking at how we can support Jai’s work to raise awareness and funds for MND. We know that doesn’t change what happened last night, but we would like to recognise the significance of what he is doing and the cause he is supporting.

“You will also see our on-air team acknowledge our significant error in our Warriors’ coverage today.“

Media Insider requests for an interview with Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney and/or head of sport Gary Burchett have so far been refused.

Burchett told Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine that the decision to play the ad was a human error, not an automated one.

The blunder has once again thrown the spotlight on Sky’s customer service - last week, rugby fans were left fuming when a technical glitch prevented them from watching most of an All Blacks game in South Africa on Sky Sport Now.

Another viewer wrote to Media Insider this morning: “I made a complaint with Sky a few weeks back when they played an ad when [Australian cricketer] Mitchell Starc took a wicket mid-over. When coverage resumed, Starc had taken another wicket. A whole wicket missed and I was left confused as to why he was now on a hattrick! I called and warned Sky that if this sort of rubbish happened during the All Blacks scoring there would be hell to pay. Interesting, they didn’t listen.”

Another fan pointed out on social media that it was also Gambling Harm Awareness Week.

Another wrote to Media Insider about the “pervasive” gambling ad.

“For those of us where choosing to pay for sport comes at the expense of another ‘nice to have’ - because if you’re on a low wage, or you’re a single income with a kid, for instance, the monthly sub is a small fortune - it feels like a kick in the teeth to keep having these issues where customers are Sky’s lowest consideration.

“Pretty f***ed off by this one - wouldn’t it be nice to see some changes actually happen at the top ... Rather than boilerplate excuses, top brass that don’t care, and probably some worker at the bottom of the ladder who gets scapegoated.”

Viewer Shem Hoani wrote on Facebook: “After last night’s massive blunder regarding Jai Arrow, followed by Sky Sport’s piss-poor attempt at an ‘apology’ and the huge backlash from rugby league fans, I genuinely think we all need to make our voices heard and write or email Sky Sport with a formal complaint.

“What happened last night was not just missing a few seconds of a broadcast. We missed one of the most emotional and significant moments in rugby league — a moment that, given Jai’s battle with MND, may never be seen again.

“Loyal rugby league fans deserve better than this. A lot of us, myself included, only pay for a Sky Sport subscription during the rugby league season. We pay to watch the sport we love, and we deserve a genuine apology, genuine answers and an explanation as to why Sky thought cutting away from Jai’s 100th-game walkout for betting content was acceptable.”

Hoani said it also led to a bigger question - the need for a rugby league coverage competitor in New Zealand. “Sky has had the rights for years, but having the rights should not mean rugby league fans have no alternative. We deserve better.”

The Arrow coverage gaffe also came just a week after Sky presented its annual financial results - a big profit - and annual report, in which it revealed it had not achieved its targeted customer satisfaction ratings (net promoter score).

Its comment in an investor presentation stated: “We’re not done yet”.

Last night’s blunder followed the rugby trouble for Sky last week, when the mid-week All Blacks-Lions match from South Africa could not be streamed on Sky Sport Now until after halftime.

Sky TV later offered a partial credit to Sky Sport Now customers after the technical glitch.

Viewers were instead confronted with stage four highlights of the Vuelta a España cycling race.

Sky also apologised on that occasion - “we’re very sorry to those Sky Sport Now customers whose viewing was interrupted” - with news of a $10 credit.

“Sky Sport NZ just ruined my family’s morning! We get up with our kids to watch the lads do the haka live and I’m watching dudes in spandex pedal around a hill!” wrote one customer.

Another was more blunt: “Where’s the fkn game @skysportnz useless.”

A Sky TV spokeswoman told Media Insider at the time: “We know it was an early start for fans and incredibly frustrating for those who were impacted”.

The problem, she said, was due to an outage on the global technology platform that delivered Sky Sport Now’s livestreams to viewers.

“Sky Sport Now is delivered via a separate platform to our broadcast and streaming services on Sky - including Sky Box and Pod, Sky Go, Three and ThreeNow - and none of those services [was] affected.”

The problems were fixed, but not until after halftime.

“While this was outside of our control, as a gesture of goodwill, we’re offering a $10 account credit to monthly and annual pass customers who were affected, and a full refund to customers who bought a day pass to watch the All Blacks that day,” the Sky TV spokeswoman told Media Insider at the time.

On a social post at the time, Sky Sport wrote: “If you were affected, please contact the Sky Sport Now Help Team at support@skysportnow.co.nz.”

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.