Opinion is fairly evenly split on Maori Television (MTS) leading the bid for Rugby World Cup free to air matches, a new poll shows.
MTS is leading a joint bid with TVNZ and TV3 in a deal brokered by Prime Minister John Key which averted a bidding war between MTS and TVNZ -- both backed by taxpayer funds.
A Herald-Digipoll out today showed 45.2 percent disapproved of MTS leading the bid while 44.1 percent approved.
The New Zealand Herald said it understood Mr Key and Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully met International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Bernard Lapasset while in Tokyo for the Bledisloe Cup.
The newspaper said negotiations between the broadcasters and IRB's commercial agent IMG had hit problems -- the IRB was concerned that blanket coverage over several broadcasters would "dilute" the product too much.
Another issue was that the three broadcasters would have different agendas and the IRB has previously rejected joint bids, saying they were anti-competitive.
