Sky TV announced to the NZX yesterday it was not the preferred bidder for the New Zealand broadcast rights, leaving the market wide open to speculation on who might show the tournament.
Among the market rumours circulating yesterday was a deal being put together by telecommunications company Spark and TVNZ being the preferred bidder.
Spark could use its ultra-fast broadband network to provide World Cup coverage to viewers across many devices, including television.
Also, American giant online retailer Amazon could emerge as a potential broadcaster.
National Party sport and recreation spokeswoman Nikki Kaye said after the announcement the Government must be clear about its policy on free-to-air sport, given New Zealand First had promised to implement it but Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran had said it was not a priority.
''The minute the Government tries to force greater access to coverage, it must pay for it.''
The issue had been further confused by the announcement Sky TV was not the preferred bidder for next year's Rugby World Cup, she said.
It was important to respect the tender process. However, Labour had promised additional funds for broadcasting so it now needed to be clear whether any of those funds would be used for greater access to sporting matches, Ms Kaye said.
Sky TV shares fell 7% after the company made its announcement. Shares closed at $2.23, down 19c.
Sky chief financial officer Jason Hollingworth tried to spin the news by saying the Sky bid remained in play should negotiations with the preferred party fail.
Rugby World Cup rights were sold by IMG Media on behalf of Rugby World Cup Ltd.
''Sport broadcasting is a competitive business and while we are disappointed not to be the preferred bidder, it's an economic reality we can't have every match of every sport New Zealanders like to watch.''
Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms said the loss of the Rugby World Cup, or other major international sporting events, was always expected.
''We are talking about competition from a worldwide audience. It comes down to how much money businesses have to spend. There are a lot deeper pockets than those in Sky.''
There was still no clarity about who was the preferred bidder but the competition for Sky did not bode well, he said.
If the Rugby World Cup was no longer on Sky, it could be the beginning of the end for the pay-TV company. Viewers would start looking for alternative sources for their sport.
Sky had already lost some of the premium golfing events and it earlier lost the rights to the English Premier League.
The company had an ongoing battle with technology and what it could use to meet customer demands. But if Sky lost some of its premium sporting content, there was not a lot left for it.
The company had worked hard in cutting prices and changing its offering but a lot of people had said if Sky lost sport, they would no longer subscribe, Mr Timms said.
Mr Hollingworth said although the Rugby World Cup was great content it was an ''incredibly expensive'' event that played once every four years for six weeks.
Sky Sport's business was built on offering sports fans their favourite matches on a week-in, week-out basis, over multiple years.
