When and where to watch Kiwis in action at the Commonwealth Games

The road to the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been rocky. The original host, the Australian state of Victoria, withdrew in 2023 citing escalating costs, and it was to be a year before 2014 host city Glasgow reached an agreement to host the games again.

The deal included $200 million in compensation to Glasgow from the Victorian government and a reduction in the number of sports from 13 to 10, with six para sports integrated into the main programmes. Vexingly, the three missing sports – sevens rugby, cricket and hockey – are all ones where New Zealand would have fancied itself a medal chance. There’s no road riding or mountain biking in the cycling programme either, and only artistic gymnastics.

Undaunted, Sky has thrown everything at the games, with up to nine Sky Sport channels showing live coverage at peak and the “Gold” channel, Sky Sport 4, running live daily from 7pm to 11.30am the next day. But that’s not all: Three will transform into a dedicated Commonwealth Games channel showing coverage 23 hours a day, breaking only for the 6pm news. News bulletins will be followed by the special Games edition of The Crowd Goes Wild, then it’s back into live coverage.

Whatever you can’t catch live will be on-demand on Sky Sport Now, including 24-hour catch-ups, key highlights and replays, features and a daily preview show.

The on-screen crew isn’t quite as big as the games team itself, but there will be five reporters on the ground in Glasgow. In the studio, Dame Sophie Pascoe and the tireless Laura McGoldrick will lead morning coverage, with Kirstie Stanway fronting the evening programme and Ash Tulloch on overnights.

When to watch our team

Netball

The Silver Ferns begin their campaign in prime time for viewers at home, with their Pool B game against Scotland at 8pm on Saturday, July 25. It’s early mornings for the next three, with Jamaica on the 27th, Uganda on the 29th and Wales on the 30th, all at 6am, before the final pool game, against Trinidad and Tobago, screening at 1am on July 31. The first semifinal is at 8pm on Saturday, August 1, with the second starting at midnight. If the Ferns make it all the way, the final is scheduled for midnight, Monday, August 3.

Swimming

New Zealand medal hopes Erika Fairweather (400m freestyle), Lewis Clareburt (200m individual medley) and sprint swimmer Hazel Ouwehand (50m butterfly) are in the action early, with their preliminaries all set for the session beginning at 9.30pm on Friday, July 24. Fingers crossed, they will be swimming their finals (in Ouwehand’s case, a semi-final) from just after 6am the following morning. Clareburt and Fairweather have heats to swim again on Saturday night, with finals again the next morning, along with Ouwehand’s 50m final. It’s the same nights-and-mornings set-up through until Friday.

Athletics

New Zealand’s fastest woman, Zoe Hobbs, is in action at 11.25pm on Monday, 27th, with her 100m heat (if she makes the final, that’s at 8.40pm on the 29th). High jump is straight to a final, where Hamish Kerr will look to add to his brace of gold medals from 6.10am on the 28th – leading us nicely into the 3000m steeplechase final at 7.50am, where world champion Geordie Beamish will have his eyes on gold.

The evening of Wednesday, July 29, is a big one, with Tom Walsh, Jacko Gill and youngster Nick Palmer lining up for the shot put qualifying from 10.05pm (they’ll all hope to be in the final starting at 6am on Friday) and Sam Tanner and Geordie Beamish lining up for the first round of the mile a few minutes later. Look out the next day for the women’s high-jump final with Olivia McTaggart, Eliza McCartney and Imogen Ayris in contention. Overall, it’s the same mid-evening and early-breakfast split as the swimming.

Cycling

It’s track cycling only this time in Glasgow, with New Zealand’s contingent of 19 riders making up nearly a third of the games team. You’ll be able to catch plenty of it from 9pm each night from Thursday, July 30, when the women’s sprint team leads off. Double Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews begins her bid for Commonwealth gold at 3am. For the first time, six para cyclists are integrated with the main team, and their journey begins with the Para-Sport B Tandem sprint crew, who have three races in the session beginning at 9pm on July 30. Most of the finals are, unfortunately, scheduled for the wee small hours.

Lawn bowls & para lawn bowls

The bowls leads off with section play in the women’s pairs, men’s singles and para bowls beginning at 7.30pm on July 24. As the week proceeds, sessions start at 7.30pm and 2am – but there’s a cluster of medal matches from early evening on August 2.

Basketball 3x3 and Para x3

The compressed, half-court version of basketball begins with the men facing Australia at 9pm on the 24th, with several 4am starts after that. There are both men’s and women’s wheelchair teams, but their draws were to be determined at press time.

Boxing

30-year-old Alex Mukuka, who has previously fought in a Commonwealth Games for Zambia, starts his quest for gold at 10pm on July 24, along with an otherwise youthful team. You’ll be able to catch most of the action through to the finals, late evening on August 2.

Gymnastics

The artistic programme starts with the men’s team competition at 9pm on July 24, but most of the coverage, through to July 29, starts after midnight.

Judo

Daily from Saturday, August 1, with qualification rounds at 10pm and medal bouts around 3am.

Weightlifting

It’s straight into finals, with Marco Mollo and Cam McTaggart in action from 7am on July 28, then daily coverage. Find out whether the veteran David Liti can become the first New Zealand weightlifter to win a medal at three separate Commonwealth Games from 5.30am on Friday, July 31.

Click here to read article