Sky and New Zealand Rugby announced yesterday a broadcast agreement which is to run until the end of 2025. The agreement gives Sky the right to broadcast rugby in New Zealand from 2021-25 on all platforms.
The devil is in the details but what does it do for the game on the field?
NZR chief executive Steve Tew says it gives the game financial security for the next six years.
"We know how much money we are going to have for the future. That's not to say there are going to be challenges and we have to manage our costs really carefully,'' Tew said.
The deal was a real basis for the next six years; the current deal does not run out until the end of next year when the new deal will kick in.
Tew said Sky was committed to the women's game and the community game. More games were likely to be broadcast on Sky's free-to-air Prime channel.
The biggest winners are the top players. Under the collective agreement between NZR and the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association the professional players get a percentage - 36.56% - of the income brought in by such deals. So when the income goes up the top players get more money.
What does it do for the average punter who has a Sky subscription for rugby and also watches the game on the sideline? And how much of it will trickle down into the community war chest, to pay for transport costs to ferry teams around?
For the average punter, probably not a lot will change. All Black tests will continue on Sky, though who knows how much will have to be paid for them. It is bound to increase but that is the way of the world.
Getting into bed with Sky by taking a 5% stake casts into question the independence of NZR and there will be continued cheer-leading programmes on Sky.
The club game will continue to battle but that is more to do with society trends than any financial deal done by the governing body.
Perhaps some of this new money should go to clubs to keep them running, though some are going to go to the wall by the time this deal ends. A lack of cash and a lack of players will see to that.
Tew, who is in Japan for the World Cup, spoke in a recorded message of growing the game through the new deal.
What that exactly means is anyone's guess. The union could afford to have player development officers who promoted the game and helped organise competitions and games, pay ground fees and referee educators.
It is a concern many teenagers are giving the game away and NZR needs to stop that trend but that will take some bold decisions.
Rugby is not expensive to play in New Zealand. Money paid for subscriptions is not used to fund the top body, unlike many other sports, where it is trickle up rather than trickle down.
The size of this deal should hopefully make the trickle spread further.