SKT Sky Network Television Limited.

[stoploss]

Thought experiment but wouldn't SKT shares do well as soon there'll be loads of people self isolating themselves at home with nothing to do but watch TV?...

Watch Netflix ......

[mistaTea]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12313136

Never did like that Higgins guy - always seemed to be a bit slimy for my liking.

Nothing at all wrong with hoping to cash in on competition - but the delivery of his message is pretty average. Essentially, "Sky have been a wonderful partner...have helped grow Parker fom nothing into the success (by NZ standards anyway) that he is. However, if we even get a whiff that we might be able to get a few more $$$ then cya later Sky, long-term partnership be damned!".

I doubt Sky make very much money on the Parker fights. I am a boxing fan, and happily forked out the $39.99 for the Fury v Wilder fight but would not pay anything above my normal Sky Sport sub to watch Parker.

So I doubt Sky are going to get into a heated auction to retain Parker.

Personally, I don't know why DANZ don't just buy Sky given it is at a record low market cap. Rugby rights alone are worth $400M and the market cap has been as low as $220M. Rather than enter NZ with their own offering, which will not attract a lot of subs with boxing alone.. they will run at a loss for God knows how long...

They could buy Sky and imemdiately have close to 1,000,000 subs. Obviously they would have to pay a lot more than the current market cap to buy the whole company. Probably US$500M would do it - less than the total value of Sports rights alone that Sky hold and chump change for these guys.

[winner69]

Sad watching the very last cricket test to be shown on SKY

As Smithie and his mates lamented their demise I couldn’t help think I was also watching the demise of SKY

[mistaTea]

Sad watching the very last cricket test to be shown on SKY

As Smithie and his mates lamented their demise I couldn’t help think I was also watching the demise of SKY

There will absolutely be a need for a good content aggregator now and in the future imo. It’s already hard to keep track of what is on each platform.

Imagine if Hulu, Showtime, FX, HBO, Vice, History Channel and all of their other content partners decided to go OTT.
Few of them would be able to make any money as standalone offerings and it would become a nightmare for consumers.

It is yet to be seen whether Sky are able to transition effectively and become that aggregator of choice in NZ - but they are giving it their best shot, and I think the odds are strongly in their favour.

Time will either prove that I am very wise...or incredibly foolish.

[k14]

There will absolutely be a need for a good content aggregator now and in the future imo. It’s already hard to keep track of what is on each platform.

Imagine if Hulu, Showtime, FX, HBO, Vice, History Channel and all of their other content partners decided to go OTT.
Few of them would be able to make any money as standalone offerings and it would become a nightmare for consumers.

It is yet to be seen whether Sky are able to transition effectively and become that aggregator of choice in NZ - but they are giving it their best shot, and I think the odds are strongly in their favour.

Time will either prove that I am very wise...or incredibly foolish.

The other massive benefit is that Sky has their satellite network. Go and talk to a motorhome/caravanner (or someone that lives in rural areas) and see what they think of now not being able to watch any cricket without expensive data plans (that's if their holiday destination even has cell coverage). I think Sky has got a big advantage in being able to reach 100% of the country without any middle man or requirement for additional infrastructure. NZ Cricket have missed the mark with this call and they will suffer for it long term. I think Sky will still be round for a while yet and I am saying this as someone who had them disconnected in September (after being a 15+ year subscriber) and has used sky sport now for the last 3 months. Streaming over broadband/4G is ok but satellite is so much easier and reliable.

[mistaTea]

The other massive benefit is that Sky has their satellite network. Go and talk to a motorhome/caravanner (or someone that lives in rural areas) and see what they think of now not being able to watch any cricket without expensive data plans (that's if their holiday destination even has cell coverage). I think Sky has got a big advantage in being able to reach 100% of the country without any middle man or requirement for additional infrastructure. NZ Cricket have missed the mark with this call and they will suffer for it long term. I think Sky will still be round for a while yet and I am saying this as someone who had them disconnected in September (after being a 15+ year subscriber) and has used sky sport now for the last 3 months. Streaming over broadband/4G is ok but satellite is so much easier and reliable.

Agreed - satellite is still a [narrow moat] competitive advantage for the reasons you point out. It is the only way to get 100% coverage of NZ in a reliable way. People will be quick to point out that you do get 'atmospheric conditions' errors with satellite - but that it very much the exception to the rule. As a whole it is very very reliable.

The problem is that it is now very expensive relative to streaming. John Fellet pointed out a couple of years back that he would love to be able to wave his magic wand and turn off the satellite - he would reduce his OPEX (pre-IFRS 16) by $50M or so. That would include all of the lease costs plus other supporting infrastructure.

Then you have to consider the cost of setting up new customers. Sending out a STB and a technician to get the customer sorted is another cost.

All of these costs add up and ultimately push the price of the bundles up. To make it worth Sky's while they also have to insist on a compulsory Starter package for $25. That is another hurdle for customers (it just would not be worth their while to sell SOHO for $9.99/month as a standalone...).
So even though satellite is very reliable etc, people are still leaving in droves because OTT providers have such cheap offerings that are 'good enough'.

That will all change soon though. Within the next couple of months we will see the two new offerings. The merged NEON-Lightbox... and the other platform that will allow you to stream entertainment and sport.

It is this second option that interests me most. As they will no longer have to send technicians out with set top boxes etc... the bundles they offer should be more competitively priced.

They should also have no issue offering SOHO as a standalone etc.

So yeah - satellite still has advantages but the business model can't compete effectively anymore. NZ Cricket made a big call ditching Sky after such a long partnership. Cricket fans now need to pay $60/month minimum (between Sky Sport NOW and Spark Sport) if they want to watch the cricket. So I can imagine there are some very unhappy people out there.

[Stranger_Danger]

There will absolutely be a need for a good content aggregator now and in the future imo. It’s already hard to keep track of what is on each platform.

.

There are multiple good content aggregators. Type "best torrent sites 2020" or similar into Google and it brings up a list of them.

Generally you will find, near the top of the list at least, everything is on every platform.

[mistaTea]

Type "best torrent sites 2020" or similar into Google and it brings up a list of them.

I am referring to legal streaming of course.

Theft has always been a problem for the industry and there will always be people who prefer to steal no matter how good or cheap Sky (or any other provider for that matter) make their offerings.

Why you would take on the moral hazard of theft when you can get a wide selection of great content on NEON for $13.95/month (only 47 cents per day!) is beyond me.

Those are not the people that they will be able to appeal to. It's more people like me who refuse to steal and don't want to p1ss around torrenting or using a VPN to try and find a free provider.

I just want to use a great app with a great selection of content for a reasonable price.

[Arbroath]

As a rural Sky satelitte subscriber and keen cricket fan how happy do you think I am?
No NZ cricket on Sky anymore and limited broadband means NZ cricket have lost me....d1ckheads
As my wife is an Aussie I think I'll have to just watch the sandpaper scrubbers

[winner69]

As a rural Sky satelitte subscriber and keen cricket fan how happy do you think I am?
No NZ cricket on Sky anymore and limited broadband means NZ cricket have lost me....d1ckheads
As my wife is an Aussie I think I'll have to just watch the sandpaper scrubbers

Sad day the other day eh (even though we did win the cricket)

Seemed to be another step closer to the demise of SKY