SKT Sky Network Television Limited.

[Entrep]

Fanpass was about 5 years ago.

Whatever the new sports app is called

[mistaTea]

Whatever the new sports app is called

Sky sport NOW.

I have used SSN a few times and never any issue.

It’s a great service for sports fans imo. If you watch sport all year then an annual sub works out relatively cheap - $449.99 which is $37.50 a month.

[Entrep]

I didn't have issues as such, the app was just slow to flick between channels.

[LaserEyeKiwi]

NZ Herald:

The boss of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) appeared chipper as he approached the Sky TV executive table at the glamorous black-tie Halberg Awards in Auckland last week. NZR chief executive Mark Robinson made a beeline for Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney - pleasantries, a quick social chat, lots of smiles and then greetings to the rest of Moloney's table.

Behind the scenes, though, it's more hard-edged - the two organisations' leadership groups are already starting to rally for a critical 18 months ahead, in which far more serious meetings around tables will determine their companies' fortunes.

Sky and NZR are about to start re-negotiating their collective golden goose - All Blacks and rugby broadcasting rights. Sky reportedly paid in the vicinity of $500 million for a five-year deal starting in 2020.

The talks will determine the biggest sports broadcasting deal in this country and just how rugby is served to the New Zealand viewing public, which - as every sport is now finding - is more mobile than ever (with a digital screen in every fan's pocket) and perhaps less inclined to sit for two hours in front of a TV screen.

The backdrop to the new negotiations includes NZR's recent launch of its own digital channel, NZR+. While the streaming channel does not feature live coverage of the likes of the All Blacks, it is a content and audience data play, with behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive interviews and bespoke shows.

NZR may well want some live rights for NZR+ as part of a new broadcast deal.

In the meantime, Sky has not been shy about revamping its own strategy. It launches this weekend a regular and live free-to-air Saturday night Super Rugby match on its Sky Open channel, starting with the Highlanders v Moana Pasifika.

Sky will show 19 Super Rugby games and 28 NRL games live and free this season as it strives to build an advertising revenue model alongside its long-successful subscriber base. With advertising included, there will be a total delay of about 12 minutes by the end of each game.

Sky's premium customers will still see the games live on Sky pay channels, uninterrupted and without ads.

Throw in TVNZ's live (and free-to-air) rights for cricket - gifted to it after the demise of Spark Sport last year - and suddenly the landscape for sports rights has altered dramatically.

It will be fascinating to see Sky's ratings for the Chiefs v Crusaders Super Rugby match at 7.05pm tonight versus TVNZ's ratings for the Black Caps v Australia T20 cricket clash at 7.10pm.

There's been another fascinating - and surprising - move behind the scenes at NZR this week.
Ged Mahony, the man who led negotiations for NZR for the last two broadcast deals, resigned on Monday and left the business yesterday, after 10 years.

Mahony himself said he could not comment, other than texting that he had had an amazing decade at NZR, was proud of what he had achieved and "am ready for what is next". His departure comes as NZR's relatively new commercial arm New Zealand Rugby Commercial, led by Craig Fenton, takes the lead in negotiations with Sky for the new broadcast deal.

Mahony would still have played a critical role in those discussions but several sources pondered whether the structural changes had played a part in his decision.
They all confirmed he left on his terms. "Ged is a rock star"" said one highly-placed source.

In an internal note to NZR staff, obtained by Media Insider, Fenton wrote that it was his "bittersweet task" to announce Mahony's resignation.
"Though I've only known Ged a short time compared with most of you, I've come to appreciate his whole-hearted passion for the business, his deep expertise and network across the media landscape. I've heard many people in the industry sing his praises - his reputation is exemplary and he is highly regarded."

The 2019 TV rights deal, wrote Fenton, landed NZR "one of the largest broadcast deals in the industry".

Mahony's departure follows the departure of New Zealand Rugby chief communications and brand officer Charlotte McLauchlan late last year.
Meanwhile, two other senior female leaders are also leaving NZR - Claire Beard leaves this week as head of women's rugby while chief people, safety and wellbeing officer Andrea Brunner is joining Southern Cross as a senior executive.

[Sideshow Bob]

Buyback is back in action......http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...056/413858.pdf

[Bjauck]

Did you read the results?

SkyBox & Neon had big drops in subscriber numbers (SkyBox: 517k users to 501k users, Neon: 318k users dropped to 277k users), Sky Sport Now the only growth driver (168k users to 206k users), which it should be, it’s the only valuable content they own.

The entire company now relies on rugby rights, which run for 2 more years. Luckily at this stage there doesn’t appear to be a serious contender for them, other than NZR itself going it alone (can’t see that happening…yet).

I finally let the sky box go after months of prevarication. However we were watching sky less on average than other (much) cheaper platforms. It was the My sky recording ability that held up the decision, but in the end it was not enough. Rugby not a factor. I am SKT shareholder too!

* I even got a final credit for the return of the old box!

[mistaTea]

Buyback is back in action......http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...056/413858.pdf

Continuing a buyback when the company has seen a big drop in subs is questionable. When Media asked SM about the subs situation after the HY results she said they were "soft".

And the ad revenue strategy Sophie has been banging on about seems to be going up in smoke. According to WMD the ad revenue just is not there.

You only do a buyback when the shares are undervalued. I don't think many people would see SNT with a market cap of ~$400M as undervalued given the cost of living crisis in general and decreasing Sky TV subs specifically.

Just my 2 cents.

[Sideshow Bob]

SM buying on market.

http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...207/414043.pdf

[RTM]

" Sky has acquired a total of 2,822,662 shares under this on-market share buyback programme
(including the shares in this notice). Under this buyback, Sky may acquire up to a further
5,911,754 shares on or before 31 March 2024"

Not long to go and less than 50% acquired...can they simply extend the time frame ? They seem to be OK purchasing around $2.80.

[airedale]

It is interesting that in the same week that the major TV channels in NZ announced staff cuts and economies that both S. Moloney and P.Bowman both increased their holdings in Sky TV.