Rousselot to head Chorus as focus moves from build

Kate McKenzie replaced by JB Rousselot as Chorus CEO

Chorus has appointed former Telstra and NBN Co executive JB Rousselot as CEO. He will take over from Kate McKenzie on November 20. McKenzie will step down from that role, but will remain with Chorus in an advisory role for a month.

Rousselot was recently chief strategy officer at NBN. Before that he was in charge of NBN’s network and service operations. At Telstra he was executive director of Voice, BigPond and Media.

He has also worked as the CEO of Interline, an IP telephony start-up and has been an executive director of the Australasian Media and Communications Fund.

Speaking on the appointment Chorus chairman Patrick Strange says: “As the build nears completion, the company’s focus turns to delivering on the full potential of the world class fibre infrastructure that has been built for New Zealand. JB has the right mix of skills and experience to drive innovation, efficiency and customer focus.”

Rousselot has MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Masters Degree in Engineering from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in his native France.

Spark Sport wins NZ Cricket rights, Sky gets international

Spark Sport has win the right to broadcast all cricket matches played in New Zealand. The deal starts at the end of this domestic season and will last for six years.

This means all international games for the men and women's teams that are played here along with Super Smart and the Ford Trophy one-day final. Most games will be shown on Spark Sport although some games will be shown free to air on TVNZ.

A day after Spark's announcement, Sky said it has extended its exclusive broadcast deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The deal lasts for four years and will include the 2023 men's Cricket World Cup as well as men's and women's Twenty20 tournaments.

Sky also retains many overseas rights and will screen both the Black Caps' India tour in 2021-22 along with tours to Australia. Sky will also show all international matches played in Australia.

Spark's move triggered complaints from some rural broadband customers on wireless networks as their data caps don't allow the extended coverage that cricket can demand.

Spark talks RWC numbers

Spark Sport says there are 186,000 Rugby World Cup Tournament Pass subscriptions with the number climbing during the competition. Spark says the number of new customers is four times the number of cancellations.

Jeff Latch, who heads Spark Sport says the number is in line with the company's internal projections. He also says it shows streaming is being embraced by more New Zealanders.

Sky renews World Rugby Sevens

Sky has renewed rights to the World Rugby Sevens, a deal that lasts until 2023. For the first time the new deal includes coverage of every game from every men's and women's tournament.

Security breach snags Commerce Commission

More than 200 Commerce Commission meeting and interview transcripts were part of the haul when thieves stole computers at an external service provider. The data include confidential information from businesses and individuals. It does not include any general consumer complaints made to the Commission.