Annoyed, angry and devastated: How Kiwis really feel about streaming the Rugby World Cup

Annoyed, angry and devastated - those are the words being used to describe how Kiwis are feeling about having to stream the upcoming Rugby World Cup, according to new research done on behalf of BroadbandCompare.co.nz.

The recent research, conducted by Opinion Compare, 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," says BroadbandCompare.co.nz.

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%).

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

Only 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%).

The research revealed that 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?
The report found 68% of over 65s 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, according to the research.

Only 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 the 9 point confidence scale.

Spark Sport customers are still on the fence about Spark Sport offering a seamless experience. Forty seven percent rated between 5 and 7 on the 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