Phillip Oldfield  
No address provided 
 
Via email: [FYI request #33518 email] 
 
20 February 2026 
 
 
Kia ora Mr Oldfield 
 
Official Information Act request dated 15 January 2026  
 
We refer to your email dated 15 January 2026, transferred to TVNZ on 23 January 
2026, requesting information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).  
 
Request: “I would like to know the full details including the investment made by TVNZ 
to reach an agreement with TKO Holdings and/or UFC for the new deal to screen UFC 
content as well as PLEs/PPVs on TVNZ channels and Streaming services. 
 
Response:  We understand this request to refer to all information relating to the 
negotiation of and contracting for the broadcast of particular UFC fights on TVNZ and 
TVNZ+. Information responsive to this request is withheld under sections 9(2)(b)(ii) 
and 9(2)(i) of the Act: the requested information is commercially sensitive and would 
be likely to unreasonably prejudice TVNZ’s commercial position, and the commercial 
position of its contracting partners.  
 
In addition, we refer you to the attached press release, which includes publicly 
available information about the deal to screen UFC content and provides a link to 
UFC.com which contains additional information about UFC content deals. 
 
By way of context to this response, and with specific regard to the public interest in 
this information, we remind you that TVNZ is commercially funded by its own revenue. 
It does not receive government funding. As a content producer it is eligible for 
contestable funding, but only three programmes currently receive contestable 
funding from crown entities.   This programme funding is not guaranteed and TVNZ 
must apply for it annually through a contestable process. For these reasons, TVNZ may 
place a heavier weighting on the importance of commercial sensitivity than taxpayer 
funded crown owned entities.  
 
As your request was relatively broad, please note that if, after considering this 
response and the publicly available information, you consider there remains a specific 
piece of information you require, please set out your request with due particularity, 
as required by section 12 of the Act.  
 
We trust the above information assists.  
 
 
 

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If you are dissatisfied with this response section 28 of the Act provides you with the 
right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman in order to seek an investigation and 
review.  
 
Yours sincerely, 
Official Information Requests Team 
TVNZ 
 
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