The Sky Sport presenter shares her day one love of watching sport on TV and reveals why she’ll never get hooked on Shortland Street.
Nobody else in New Zealand has a better spot to watch the Fifa Women’s World Cup than Kristina Eddy. As part of the Sky Sport team covering the tournament in Aotearoa, Kristina has been on the sidelines for all the action so far, from the Football Ferns’ dramatic win against Norway to their tense, heartbreaking draw against Switzerland last weekend.
But this World Cup is just latest in a long list of international sporting events Kristina has been lucky enough to cover. She also followed the action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, capturing all the sporting highs and heartbreaks for viewers back in New Zealand.
More recently, she’s produced The Women’s Game, a Sky Sports talk show that celebrates the brilliance of women’s sport. As the World Cup heads into the knockout stages, Kristina reflects on some of her most memorable television moments.
My earliest TV memory is… Live sport from day one! I have fond memories of sitting on the couch next to dad with snacks, watching Formula 1 or weekend All Black test matches with the fam.
The TV show I used to rush home from school to watch was… Rocket Power on Nickelodeon. Of all of the shows around during my childhood, my brother and I loved that show with a passion.
My earliest TV crush was… It’s not strictly a TV show, but the day Zac Efron graced our screens on High School Musical was a pretty good day to be a young teenager.
The most exciting live sport moment I’ve ever been present for is… The golden 52 minutes at the rowing at the Tokyo Olympics a couple of years ago. I just remember standing there on the sidelines for Sky Sport in disbelief as Emma Twigg claimed that incredible redemption gold, then our women’s eight claimed silver, just minutes before the men’s eight capped their unprecedented campaign with a historic gold.
The TV ad I can’t stop thinking about is… I actually brought up the old school Mitre 10 ad with the Aussie and Kiwi kids on my phone the other day – it’s such a classic.
My TV guilty pleasure is… Australian reality television… I’m not even ashamed of it anymore. From one to the next you get The Block Australia, Survivor, Masterchef, Married at First Sight… the list goes on.
My favourite TV character of all time is… Bridget Jones. While not a TV character as such, she’s just so relatable in every beautiful way possible. Usually, the third movie in a trilogy doesn’t live up to the hype, but I enjoyed every moment of Bridget Jones’ Baby just as much as the last.
The live TV moment I’ll never forget is… Probably when the 2011 tsunami hit the shores of Japan. I remember it cutting into live programming with the helicopter shot over the water as it happened.
My most used streaming platform is… Sky Sport Now! It’s perfect for watching my late night NRL or early morning F1 in bed.
My favourite TV project I’ve ever been involved in is… Any major sporting event. You just can’t beat the high energy and passion that comes with live sport and witnessing sporting history at the winter and summer Olympics has to take the cake. Being at the heart of incredible performance and raw emotion is such a privilege.
The TV show that defined my lockdown was… Ozark or the Tiger King – what a time and thank goodness for the streaming boom during that time.
The TV sporting moment I wish I’d seen in person is… Imagine being in the crowd at the Tour Championship in 2018 when Tiger Woods won on the PGA Tour for the first time in five years. Love him or hate him (I know, most hate him), that was one of those sporting moments in history I feel like you just had to be there for.
My most-watched TV show of all time is… I think it would have to be Masterchef Australia. Only because there’s at least 55 episodes per season. It is worth every moment, though.
What I wish people knew about making sport TV is… It’s intense at times, unpredictable, and often it never goes perfectly to plan but it’s such a dream and also one of the greatest privileges I’ve had in my lifetime.
My controversial TV take is… Friends is great and impressive for its time, but it’s not the best.
A show I will probably never watch, no matter how many people say I should is… Shortland Street – I appreciate it’s been fantastic for New Zealand, but I just can’t seem to get around to it.
The last thing I watched on TV was… Australian Survivor – it’s getting really good.
Kristina is co-hosting New Zealand coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, which is available on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now, with select matches on Prime. Read the previous My Life in TVs here.