SKT Sky Network Television Limited.

[daveypnz]

SkyTV is getting better with digital options - but I still hope it goes further to break down content.

Like for instance if someone really loves a particular sport. It would be ideal to just buy that particular sport to stream; instead of having to pay for content you will never watch. At least Sky Sport is stand alone now for streaming @$400p.a but it would be good to go a step further and have options to just a) buy - Super Rugby or the NRL season for x$.

They do have specials every now and then but alas.

Huge demand for this judging by social media. A lot of people in NZ are pissed off about RugbyPass for that reason.

It makes the world of sense, I can only assume it hasn't been done as the ARPU will likely go down significantly despite an increase in subs.

[LaserEyeKiwi]

SkyTV is getting better with digital options - but I still hope it goes further to break down content.

Like for instance if someone really loves a particular sport. It would be ideal to just buy that particular sport to stream; instead of having to pay for content you will never watch. At least Sky Sport is stand alone now for streaming @$400p.a but it would be good to go a step further and have options to just a) buy - Super Rugby or the NRL season for x$.

They do have specials every now and then but alas.

I made the mistake (From a shareholders perspective) this last weekend of mentioning to my brother in law that you can get Sky Sport Now as a standalone streaming product for $39 a month (or $33 a month on an annual contract). Unfortunately he is now in the process of getting rid of his MySkyBox and satellite subscription (for which he was paying $100 a month) and has signed up for the streaming sky sport product.

[LaserEyeKiwi]

Huge demand for this judging by social media. A lot of people in NZ are pissed off about RugbyPass for that reason.

It makes the world of sense, I can only assume it hasn't been done as the ARPU will likely go down significantly despite an increase in subs.

Overseas Rugbypass is $50 USD for the 11 weeks of Super Rugby NZ season. do the currency conversion and add GST and it comes out to not that much less than the same 3 month period of Sky Sport Now streaming price (especially if you are on the annual plan). So for about an extra 20% you get every other sport offered by sky as well included, along with all the other rugby competitions (not included in the rugbypass season ticket for Super Rugby NZ I assume).

RUGBY PASS: $50 USD = $70 NZD + 15% = $80.50c
3 months of Sky Sport Now = $99.75c

[mistaTea]

I made the mistake (From a shareholders perspective) this last weekend of mentioning to my brother in law that you can get Sky Sport Now as a standalone streaming product for $39 a month (or $33 a month on an annual contract). Unfortunately he is now in the process of getting rid of his MySkyBox and satellite subscription (for which he was paying $100 a month) and has signed up for the streaming sky sport product.

I actually don't think that is a mistake at all.

Sky need to focus on products that meet consumer demand.

No point your brother-in-law paying $100 per month when he really just wants sport. Sky Sport NOW should become more popular over time for those who just want a sport package - and that helps Sky know where to invest more.

If your brother-in-law still wants some of the hit shows Sky have he can also take NEON. That is only $13.95 per month (or $9.99 per month if you bill through Spark). So for half what he is paying now he could 'have the best of both worlds'.

Sky will have hundreds of thousands of Sky Box customers for years to come - but it is their streaming apps (NEON, Sky Sport NOW, Sky GO and RugyPass) that will become increasingly valuable over time. The more people that adopt (or switch to) these services, the stronger the signal for Sky as to where to focus future CAPEX.

We must not fear cannibalisation of our 'old' offerings in favour of the new.

[mistaTea]

Overseas Rugbypass is $50 USD for the 11 weeks of Super Rugby NZ season. do the currency conversion and add GST and it comes out to not that much less than the same 3 month period of Sky Sport Now streaming price (especially if you are on the annual plan). So for about an extra 20% you get every other sport offered by sky as well included, along with all the other rugby competitions (not included in the rugbypass season ticket for Super Rugby NZ I assume).

RUGBY PASS: $50 USD = $70 NZD + 15% = $80.50c
3 months of Sky Sport Now = $99.75c

Yes, plus Sky can't offer RugbyPass even if they wanted.

RugbyPass does not have the rights to broadcast in NZ - only Sky (satellite) and Sky Sport NOW do. In fact, the contract rights are so prescriptive that Sky GO is only allowed to stream it as a companion to a satellite sub (not a standalone).

Perhaps when future rights up up for negotiation in NZ Sky and NZR may look at some kind of RP offer for NZ. They could do a revenue sharing model again which would lower Sky's content costs.

But as you point out, Sky Sport is already a very cheap package for the amount of sport you get. Even if RP was offered in NZ, I think kiwis would save a few dollars a month, but lose access to a range of content. And a lot of 'sports fans' watch a number of other sports in addition to rugby.

[daveypnz]

Overseas Rugbypass is $50 USD for the 11 weeks of Super Rugby NZ season. do the currency conversion and add GST and it comes out to not that much less than the same 3 month period of Sky Sport Now streaming price (especially if you are on the annual plan). So for about an extra 20% you get every other sport offered by sky as well included, along with all the other rugby competitions (not included in the rugbypass season ticket for Super Rugby NZ I assume).

RUGBY PASS: $50 USD = $70 NZD + 15% = $80.50c
3 months of Sky Sport Now = $99.75c

That's a good point. I guess it just comes down to better marketing as Sky is still fighting a negative perception in the eye of many consumers.

Something simple like offering 10% off the monthly price for 3 months (or more) to cover the Rugby season could go a long way.

[LaserEyeKiwi]

I actually don't think that is a mistake at all.

Sky need to focus on products that meet consumer demand.

No point your brother-in-law paying $100 per month when he really just wants sport. Sky Sport NOW should become more popular over time for those who just want a sport package - and that helps Sky know where to invest more.

If your brother-in-law still wants some of the hit shows Sky have he can also take NEON. That is only $13.95 per month (or $9.99 per month if you bill through Spark). So for half what he is paying now he could 'have the best of both worlds'.

Sky will have hundreds of thousands of Sky Box customers for years to come - but it is their streaming apps (NEON, Sky Sport NOW, Sky GO and RugyPass) that will become increasingly valuable over time. The more people that adopt (or switch to) these services, the stronger the signal for Sky as to where to focus future CAPEX.

We must not fear cannibalisation of our 'old' offerings in favour of the new.

I agree with your sentiment, and I think that is the future for Sky to ideally be a collection of content licensing deals with minimal infrastructure, although I think its rather bad news in the short-medium term as it means lower ARPUs, more churn (its much easier to come and go on a streaming service than installing/cancelling a skybox) and the big factor is the fixed costs Sky has for its satellite infrastructure will increasingly be spread over less and less satellite subscribers.

I was pleased to see Sky had negotiated a much cheaper deal with its satellite provider, the more it can cut that down the easier it will be to transition mostly to streaming. Sky really has Optus over a barrell here I suppose (it isn't like anyone else is interested in utilising that satellite bandwidth I assume).

[mistaTea]

Huge demand for this judging by social media.

If this venture has been very successful then I would anticipate Sky releasing another earning guidance upgrade within the next couple of weeks.

The vast majority of people who are going to take a sub would have already done so by now. I expect the majority would have taken the cheaper season pass too rather than pay weekly.

So if it has been very successful, significant amounts of cash should have already hit Sky’s bank account.

And the previous earnings guidance did not factor this in - as no deal had been done with NZR at that point.

[daveypnz]

If this venture has been very successful then I would anticipate Sky releasing another earning guidance upgrade within the next couple of weeks.

The vast majority of people who are going to take a sub would have already done so by now. I expect the majority would have taken the cheaper season pass too rather than pay weekly.

So if it has been very successful, significant amounts of cash should have already hit Sky’s bank account.

And the previous earnings guidance did not factor this in - as no deal had been done with NZR at that point.

I meant there is huge demand for individual sports packages in New Zealand.

Definitely plenty of interest for the RP package on Twitter though. There are a lot of Canadians & Americans asking for it, a shame RP can't offer it to them.

[mistaTea]

I meant there is huge demand for individual sports packages in New Zealand.

Definitely plenty of interest for the RP package on Twitter though. There are a lot of Canadians & Americans asking for it, a shame RP can't offer it to them.

I suspect the North Americans will get access with a VPN.

So can kiwis who really want it.

You don’t exactly need to be “tech savvy” to use a VPN these days.