SKT Sky Network Television Limited.

[mistaTea]

I hope they research the "love of the bundle" theory before launching a do or die run. I don't imagine that I am the only person out there who has no interest in such a package. I went off sport when sky first bought it all up and haven't returned, local programing I can get more than my fill of on free to air and won't miss it if its not there, and general news I can get all I want online without the drivel.

You aren't the only person who does not want a full bundle that has 'everything' - which is why Martin does say they need a compelling Entertainment-only offering. His comments are actually broadly aligned to a previous post I made just yesterday as it turns out (I swear, I only found that article this afternoon)

I outlined the four key services I think they need to transition to (and do it quickly):

1. Sky Sport NOW - for the fans that love Sky's sport offering, but are quite happy with Netflix etc for their other entertainment
2. New significantly enhanced SVOD service (the merged NEON and Lightbox) - for those that enjoy Sky's Movies and SOHO content, but aren't interested in sport
3. RugbyPass - for the international rugby fans. As much as I disagree with the practice, Nzers can also access this service if they just want rugby by using a VPN.
4. Updated and Enhanced SkyGO as a standalone with appropriate pricing for multiple simultaneous streams - for people like myself who enjoy both Sky's sport and entertainment offerings, want it all on one user friendly platform...but has to be a reasonable price.

Personally, I would be interested in option 4 if I could get it at a reasonable price. I enjoy both Sky's entertainment and sport offerings...so a larger bundle which would allow me to consume all of the content on a single, user-friendly platform would be ideal.
I don't think I am alone in this desire either, and the more fragmentation we see in the market the more appealing bundles appear to me.

It's just that right now Sky's satellite bundles are very expensive (relative to streaming services) and MySky has really outdated UX. I tried to navigate the OnDemand menu of my sister's MySky a couple of weeks ago - Christ it was difficult compared to the streaming services I am accustomed to now!

[mistaTea]

Two very different articles written today about Sky. Astonishing.

The first is from Chris Keall, who seems to only ever consider the negatives. I don't think he actually knows a lot about broadcasting, so he fills in his knowledge gaps with speculation and personal opinion. In this latest one he makes a huge deal about the $5M paper loss NZ Rugby have observed on their 5% of Sky TV shares. He speculates that they are probably now wishing they just took cash instead for the whole deal.

That is one very negative way to look at it. In reality, with NZ Rugby being such a large shareholder now I doubt very much that they give a tinkers toss that the quoted value of their stock has dipped at the moment. They are more likely to ignore SP and behave as business owners - their focus will be on how the broadcasting company they own can help them with their ambitions to build the sport. An All Blacks centric offering on RugbyPass is one of many ideas they have to grow the brand and sport over the long term.

But don't expect that kind of thinking to ever enter Chris's 'journalism'.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12306355

Then on Stuff I come across a very different article: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainmen...--media-expert

Points out the challenges of streaming in a crowded market but, quite rightly, also points out that a combined Lightbox-NEON service stands a much better chance of being competitive (as opposed to the current state where they are standalone services competing against each other as well as the Muti-billlion dollar empires like Netflix, Disney etc).

[bull....]

Two very different articles written today about Sky. Astonishing.

The first is from Chris Keall, who seems to only ever consider the negatives. I don't think he actually knows a lot about broadcasting, so he fills in his knowledge gaps with speculation and personal opinion. In this latest one he makes a huge deal about the $5M paper loss NZ Rugby have observed on their 5% of Sky TV shares. He speculates that they are probably now wishing they just took cash instead for the whole deal.

That is one very negative way to look at it. In reality, with NZ Rugby being such a large shareholder now I doubt very much that they give a tinkers toss that the quoted value of their stock has dipped at the moment. They are more likely to ignore SP and behave as business owners - their focus will be on how the broadcasting company they own can help them with their ambitions to build the sport. An All Blacks centric offering on RugbyPass is one of many ideas they have to grow the brand and sport over the long term.

But don't expect that kind of thinking to ever enter Chris's 'journalism'.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12306355

Then on Stuff I come across a very different article: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainmen...--media-expert

Points out the challenges of streaming in a crowded market but, quite rightly, also points out that a combined Lightbox-NEON service stands a much better chance of being competitive (as opposed to the current state where they are standalone services competing against each other as well as the Muti-billlion dollar empires like Netflix, Disney etc).

neon/lightbox will never compete against netflix. ever declining price off the stock only suggests the end is coming

[Baa_Baa]

neon/lightbox will never compete against netflix. ever declining price off the stock only suggests the end is coming

Five and a half years of capital destruction, over 90% fall in share price, even an arcing down trend line. Monthly chart. https://invst.ly/prm3r

[Well Endowed]

neon/lightbox will never compete against netflix. ever declining price off the stock only suggests the end is coming

fully agree. As content owners 'turtle' and current geographical deals start rolling off, there just isn't the quality content available for the likes of Neon/Lightbox that would even come close to justifying a similar monthly charge as Netflix.

This is even more clear with new content, which is increasingly being created for exclusivity on a specific platform.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainmen...reaming-movies

[mistaTea]

fully agree. As content owners 'turtle' and current geographical deals start rolling off, there just isn't the quality content available for the likes of Neon/Lightbox that would even come close to justifying a similar monthly charge as Netflix.

This is even more clear with new content, which is increasingly being created for exclusivity on a specific platform.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainmen...reaming-movies

Perhaps you are right.

Though I still question the economics for the likes of HBO, Showtime, FX etc ripping up their deals with Sky in favour of entering this small market with standalone products.

Disney + was different in my mind because there will be a lot of families that will be prepared to fork out $10/month to get the shows for the kids. Parents will have some pressure from their kids, and there is also a nostalgic pull factor for the grownups.

I don't think the same would apply to the other content creators.

And also, once HBO Max is available - all Kiwi's with a VPN can sign up direct if they want anyway (as much as I might personally be against the practice). So wouldn't they be better off having their cake and eat it too? Get the big cheque from Sky and additional revenue from Kiwis accessing their service via VPN.

On the topic of VPNs... I reckon if our American friends discovered that they could subscribe to NEON for US$9/month and get all that HBO/Showtime/FX content for the equivalent of approx US$2 per week then NEON subs would go through the roof.

The NEON app needs a lot of work, but at NZ$13.95 per month it's a bargain and I am surprised overseas VPN-using bargain hunters haven't discovered it.

[Entrep]

On the topic of VPNs... I reckon if our American friends discovered that they could subscribe to NEON for US$9/month and get all that HBO/Showtime/FX content for the equivalent of approx US$2 per week then NEON subs would go through the roof.

The NEON app needs a lot of work, but at NZ$13.95 per month it's a bargain and I am surprised overseas VPN-using bargain hunters haven't discovered it.

LOL - very true!!

[Preston]

I agree with a comment in one of the articles that just came out. The more competition in the Movie/tv streaming space, the better. I would imagine it would be a lot easier to go into partnership with one of the streaming giants if they knew that they'd have direct access to the Sky subscriber base and wouldn't have to fight in a crowded area. (not that they probably care too much about NZ!) I'm already at the point where I'd like the amazon, Disney and netflix services because of different shows......do I purchase all of them? Is someone going to wrap a couple up in a nice parcel for me and then give me the option to watch the F1 (if they can get it back) Rugby and the Breakers as well? Martin is onto something here. Retail shops all eventually ended up in one big customer milking machine. Wonder if his vision will come true.

Either way, until the Dividend gets reinstated, I don't think there will be a heck of a lot of SP movement. But if it gets back to 15c/year...nice earner at this price.

[mistaTea]

I'm already at the point where I'd like the amazon, Disney and netflix services because of different shows......do I purchase all of them? Is someone going to wrap a couple up in a nice parcel for me and then give me the option to watch the F1 (if they can get it back) Rugby and the Breakers as well? Martin is onto something here. Retail shops all eventually ended up in one big customer milking machine. Wonder if his vision will come true.

Either way, until the Dividend gets reinstated, I don't think there will be a heck of a lot of SP movement. But if it gets back to 15c/year...nice earner at this price.

Yeah as the space gets more crowded, I think aggregation is inevitable. Whether or not Sky ends up being the premium aggregator in NZ is yet to be seen - though, in my view, they are the best placed.
They already have a partnership with Bein Sports for example, so why not be able to tack on Amazon, Netflix etc? They could tack on a couple of new channels that play an assortment of their content for those who still like browsing through the 'TV guide' as well as have their entire catalogues available On Demand. Spark have a wholesale deal with Netflix, so why couldn't Sky do something similar?

With regards to the dividend. Agree that SP would rise if they reinstated it. But I don't see them paying out 15c/share per annum for the foreseeable future...that would equate to approx $65M a year. They still need to invest more into the business and pay down more debt.

It is feasible that they could pay out $20M - $40M per annum though (4.5c - 9c per share). Personally, if they are going to return $$$ to shareholders I would prefer it via share buyback at these current low prices. That would reward long-term holders exponentially.

But in the short term, payment of a dividend would probably push the SP up higher than if they did a buyback...so it will be interesting to see what they do here.

[TideMan]

As Crusaders season ticket holders, we've been offered a Super Rugby season (Feb to Jun) sub for all Sports channels for $160.
Not for me this year, but maybe next year..............
It's shows they're innovating.