I also canceled, might re-enable it when the rugby comes back although I'm sure many will turn to sailing the high seas instead.
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I also canceled, might re-enable it when the rugby comes back although I'm sure many will turn to sailing the high seas instead.
When our Sky Box blew up (during the WC quarter final :scared: ) when lived without it for 3 weeks before got a replacement that worked.
Seriously considering just moving to the SSN app.
Looks like from ST that there is at least 6 cancellations in the last 24 hours.....
I would suggest quite a large number given small sub-section of their subscribers.
I sent my set top box (MySky) back last week and cancelled Neon (had stuff my partner wanted to watch) as well, I've gone from paying over $120 a month for years to $50 to nothing. 28 years as a Sky customer and nothing positive to say about their service now. Only got sky originally as we can't get normal reception but streaming has changed all that, I just swap between streaming services and spend less than $30 a month to overseas suppliers. Sky's customer service is some of the worst I've experienced and the fact you can't leave SKY online using your login and have to ring to cancel is just archaic. On the positive side, I did make some good money on my SKY shares due to my own inexperience and following them down to the bargain basement cap raise but sold out months ago in the $2.60 range. I've learnt a lot from having SKY and Sky shares, but my time with SKY is over. Good luck to all holders, I hope you make your money before this dinosaur goes extinct.
Hi for anyone that does still want to keep Sky, I rang and asked if they could do better or I would be cancelling about a month ago. They took 30% off the total for 12 months but told me it was a one off....
Yeah unfortunately I resigned up for a year in May to neon and to be honest there hasn't been much on there. All the good hbo shows they don't stream.
Then the movies they stream are exactly the sane on amazon prime which is cheaper.
I said to my family a few months ago but I'm going back to downloading again after 12 year of not having too
Still no on market buyback announcements.
One would think the interested parties have come back for another attempt?
If that is the case then it is not a great look that Pooman bought shares on 15/11.
Pretty sure the buyback must stop a month out from a reporting period so no buying in December. It also provides an opportunity for the bidder to come back with no disclosure needed…
It's almost like they declared negotiations finished to give themselves that opportunity... I'm not sure it's not above board though, when I think about it.
Oh Bownan definitely won’t have won’t anything against the rules, no worries there.
And, as you say, it could just be a pause in the buyback a month out from reporting etc.
If it did turn out that the interested party came back so soon it just wouldn’t be a good look is all I am saying.
Though no insinuation that Bowman has done anything wrong so far as the rules go.
Just a lucky guy I guess!! He can see what a third party bid for the business plus be privy to independent valuations from the bankers etc…and then load up the truck on shares whereas the market gets none of that info.
I've sent an email to investor relations to see if they have any thoughts.
That’s hardly the same thing though. Inferring from his buying that SKT is undervalued is one thing. Having access to the exact amount that a bidder has offered as well as whatever independent valuation they got as part of the process is quite another I think.
No I don’t own SKT and would not consider buying in again with current Leadership no matter how ‘cheap’ the company ever looked.
How much did you lose again?
Moneyman is correct, this is from Sky:
Thanks for taking the time to get in touch.
Sky’s Securities Trading Policy includes a blackout period of 30 days prior to the half and full year balance dates (Link to policy). As a result, on Monday’ 4th of December we advised that we’d bought back some shares on Friday 1st and this was our last repurchase before entering the half year blackout period. The blackout period ends on the day after Sky reports results, although in practice many companies resume buying a few day’s later to allow the market time to settle.
We’ve reviewed the blackout practices of other companies in our market, and while some take effect from the actual half and full year balance dates (rather than before), we found that our existing policy is in line with the majority of companies – actually a number have much stricter policies/practices.
Share price is holding up nicely, with out the buy backs propping it up.
More consolidation - Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount in merger talks
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67782869
A friend who has Neon was annoyed that the new pricing model has some ads on when he pauses the show. He pays the mid-tier, so no other ads, but there is an ad-supported basic tier now.
I agreed with him that it is annoying, you're paying $20 a month so it's a bit of a light slap in the face to be advertised to, and then I remembered something: HBO Max, or now just Max, also recently moved to an ad-supported basic package, and their next tier up also has completely skippable ads and on pause. So I did a little digging...
Turns out the basic Neon plan didn't used to be full HD streaming, but now it is with the ads to support it. Full HD streaming with ads is also a feature of the Max basic plan...
Look I'm no merger mastermind, and it could just be the industry offering similar packages, but it's a nice time to stoke the Warner takeover fires! We're being lined up for assimilation.
https://www.streamtvinsider.com/vide...int-tv-viewing
I still mostly use my Apple TV box, but I actually don't 'need' it as our Sony Bravia is really good.
In fact it has a big advantage over the Apple TV in that is does a better job of surfacing content from multiple services to the Home Page. And it has smarts to surface content I am more likely going to want to watch based on viewing history.
It can currently recommend content from Amazon Prime, Disney+, YOUTUBE and TVNZ+.
Apple 'sort of' does a bit of this in the Apple TV+ view, but not as good.
With regards to Sky, it will be interesting to see how much more pressure is put on their STB subs over the next year or two. Price increases obviously won't help, but also the recognition that any STB is not necessary for most people now.
Sky Sport NOW should still see some big increases in subs though. Just half the ARPU of a STB customer which isn't ideal.
I note that Apple also have a Pay TV Provider option whereby in some jurisdictions, you can link to your Pay TV Provider from within the Apple Universe.
As the transition to streaming continues to be thrust upon Sky, I wonder if this is something they will try tap into. Quite a few countries offer this including the UK, USA, Canada and Ireland.
Interesting comments from NZ Cricket.
- viewership has increased on FTA
- attendance at games has increased
- NZC would not be averse to accepting a lower broadcast fee if cricket remained on FTA
I assume this means that NZC is getting significantly greater returns from sponsorship and game attendance when on FTA compared to broadcast on sky tv
I have made this linkage between FTA, game popularity (viewship, game attendance, public engagement) and total revenue back to the game several times, but in regards to the falling revenues that NZ rugby has been experiencing
Sky TV might not get NZC business back at the bargain basement price they were expecting, and might not get it back at all
Not surprised at all. Plus cricket is uniquely suited to still be very profitable for FTA broadcasters given the huge amount of ad breaks possible, after every over, it’s amazing - you can fit in 100 in-game ad breaks in a 50 over a side cricket match. This is versus precisely zero in-game ad breaks in a live rugby game.
also, in regards to not being able to compete with overseas salaries for NZ cricket players, it has turned from being a big negative (players used to retire early from playing internationally to go play county cricket in England), into a big positive (players want to play international ODIs & T20s to get higher auction valuations in the Indian premier league) - so NZ cricket now has comparatively cheap player contract costs as it isn’t seen as the main compensation for our best players (who earn 5-10x more than there NZ cricket contract by playing IPL a few months a year).
You guys think they will do a buy back extension on its buy back program? Not a lot of time between its earning call and the end date for the buy back.
Made a good profit buying at mid teens (0.17 = 1.70) and selling mid 2s (2.60) as well as dividends. Thanks to MT and co. PS he was a lot more fun in those days.
NewsTalk ZB- Sophie Maloney: On Sky TV taking on TVNZ with free-to-air sport
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1049-...st_follow_link
Do not invest in this company, they have many one-sided contracts and make it very difficult to cancel their service. The New white box is a bad joke
This lady is very good at spin, but hopeless at customer service. Don't invest here.
https://www.nzx.com/announcements/426611
Sky Network Television Limited (Sky) announces another period of growth, delivering increases in allkey metrics through a strong focus on execution.
Key results1:
• +3.7% growth in Revenue to $392.7 million, driven by strong growth in Sky Sport Now, Advertisingand Broadband
• +11.1% growth in EBITDA2to $81.7 million
• +10.5% growth in NPAT to $29.0 million
• Increased Interim dividend of 7 cents per share, 100% imputed (from 6 cents per share, +16.7%)
• Full Year dividend guidance increased to at least 17.5 cents per share (from at least 15 cents pershare, +16.7%)
• New share buyback programme for up to $15 million to be launched following the expiry of thecurrent programme
I finally cut the cord yesterday. That process in itself was excruciating. As the Mrs pointed out, we don't watch anything on SKY anymore. Now the cricket has migrated to channel 1, and TVNZ+ offers a streaming service, many other shows are on you tube or other platforms. Why would I pay over $100 a month for SKY?
To add insult to injury, I was charged an additional $10 late payment fee (yes I was late but it was the first time in over 8 years and happened to be over Christmas New Years) so I told them quite politely that this was a stupid ridiculous charge that was the catalyst in them losing me as a customer.
Time to self destroy in 3,2,1....
Interesting to see what the market thinks of this report today. Seems positive to me, but not hugely so. Buy back is on again, dividend to be paid, revenue is flat to slightly up, decent amount of cash, positive forward guidance...
Capex is still high, they say this should trend down as the big years of tech renewal are behind them.....
Good for $3 per share soon?
Just had a quick squiz at the results.
- I think the big 'good news' story for Sky is that they increased Sky Sport NOW subs by 56K compared to the same time last year. Very good, and over time they could easily double those subs.
- However, the steady 2-3% churn of Sky Box customers continues despite the new Sky Box being released. Of the 16K STB customers lost since a year ago, 14K of them were cord cutting in the last 6 months (the big increase in Sky Sport was probably the catalyst). With an ARPU of $83/month that is ~$16M gone. Need to keep an eye on these subs to see if the cord cutting escalates. A lot will opt for SSN which is great, but ARPU is half STB so revenue still takes a hit.
- With NEON, I had heard anecdotally about a lot of people cancelling their sub in favour of competitor services. Losing 41K subs compared to the same time last year is a bit of a worry. The price to value for this Entertainment service should be a no-brainer for kiwis. However, clearly consumers are seeing better value elsewhere (and that is despite NEON having HBO etc).
- Good to see some small increases in GAAP earnings, and slight lift in divvy. But also worth nothing that after all was said and done, the cash balance still decreased by $8.6M. All good and well to continue with buybacks if they think the SP is low, and to pay out dividends... but that will not be able to go on forever at the rate they are paying out unless they can find a way to increase FCF.
I will migrate to SKY sport NOW, but it will be targeted and only for certain events. Nothing to excite me till May when the French Open starts for example. And then July for the Tour De France.
Their losing a lot of sports to competitors must be a worry. When you cant do the cricket in NZ thats a huge loss.
Despite all the anecdotes on here, customer base is pretty sticky and SKT gouging them nicely.
yeah I am the same.
I put it on for a month to watch the Australian Open. Did not renew.
Will happily dip in and out as there are competitions I want to watch.
They are putting a bunch of Rugby on Sky Open now too, so I can always Chromecast the Sky GO app to my TV if there is a game I want to watch.
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).
yeah, the STB drop was roughly in line with previous drops (although a big acceleration in the last 6 months which is something to keep an eye on).
The big drop in NEON is a cause for concern.
SSN plenty of room for growth and I agree that Sky should be able to get another deal. Sky can't pay anywhere near the reported $100M a year Martin agreed to last time.
So if Sky can't pay anywhere near that, NZR have to make up the funds elsewhere. Perhaps a deal with Sky while retaining the right to go OTT too. Let's see.
NEON is mostly garbage content now, they just don’t have the critical mass of exclusive content rights anymore that make it worthwhile, and yet they are charging the highest monthly fee of all the streamers, when they struggle to even compete content wise with the free TVNZ+ app.
Crickey streaming is tough. NEON content softens and people start to plug out right away.
Wonder how this plays out long-term for Sky Sport Now? Great if more people transition to SSN for now but overall revenue takes a double hit (around half the ARPU + impact of subs dipping in and out).
RWC in 1H24 makes an underlying forecast of recurring SSN subscribers difficult. Thought the answer to this question on the call was v poor.. see here: https://imgur.com/SXOkJ3Z
Tried getting rid of the decoder for the Fan Pass app instead and hated it. Too slow.
So back to the decoder...
I didn't have issues as such, the app was just slow to flick between channels.
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.
Buyback is back in action......http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...056/413858.pdf
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!
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.
SM buying on market.
http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...207/414043.pdf
" 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.
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.
Took up the SKT offer of a new sky box for free. Very easy to set up. Great remote. Good features. Surprisingly (to me) I like it more than I thought I would.
Only thing is, they sent me two! in separate packaging.
Domestic harmony, one for him and one for her.
My SKT ride has come to an end. Cashing in my chips for a good profit after the COVID buy in. Thanks for those that have contributed to the forum. Made for great reading over the years. On to the next punt ;)
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/property/a...&utm_content=1
It's finally going out to lease.
Gone are the days when this thread was more entertaining than SKY TV with Mr T and Ogg hard at it.
I see that SKY have today issued a new BuyBack notification.
http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...488/415493.pdf
12 Months
NZD$15 million and up to a maximum of 7,033,120 shares.
This increases the size of the buy back and should I guess underpin the share-price for the next 12 months or so. I guess it also reduces the $'s that they are choosing to pay out as dividends.
There were about 3.8m shares remaining under the previous buyback which ends 31 March 2024
Yeah it was much more fun when they were shilling Sky hard. Now that Mr T has sold out, he’s negative Nancy and OGG is probably still in therapy from the roller coaster of emotions he experienced watching the price plummet, getting out at $2.20 and then watching it surge to $2.90.
Another 4% of the company bought back. Love this plan. Company has to deliver and make FCF to support this of course. Happy holder here.
Lol,Mr Teas wifey prob playing hard to get,he walking around like a bear with a sore head!
Buy back fantastic, makes up for my guilty little secret ,ditching my Sky account and box,just don't see the need for it anymore,for example watched MotoGP and sail GP on three plus.Happy holder.
Bowman buying more.....
https://www.nzx.com/announcements/430286
Anyone topped up at the recent low SP? Can't believe we finally crossed $2.90 but fell back down.
Very aggresive NB offer. Was supposed to finish at the end of April, but it has been extended.
Half price for 6 months if you take Sky and Broadband. New STB thrown in for free.
You can currently get Starter + Sport + the fastest Sky Broadband option for $91.99/month for the first six months, then $183.98 thereafter.
Very aggressive pricing. These deals tend to p1ss off existing customers to no end, but if they can get a bunch more STB in the door and then hopefully amaze them with the new Sky box, perhaps they can lower churn.
The other way to look at it is that the new STB has not had the impact they hoped for, and are having to be super aggressive with their pricing to try to prop up the higher ARPU STB customer numbers.
$A67 million fine.
https://announcements.nzx.com/detail/431290
Bit of a tumble here? What is happening?
After today’s NZR vote, the players association is now in position to essentially dissolve the NZR commercial product. They threatened to walk away from the NZR and setup a new entity under which the professional players will align with. The players association are in the middle of negotiating a new contract for future seasons with NZR, so the players could easily walk away at this point without breaching contract.
Not sure where this would leave existing broadcast contracts such as those signed between Sky & NZR, if there are no players to produce the product NZR controls. Presumably the players would still like to get paid, so presumably they will quickly negotiate again with someone to broadcast whatever product they end up with.
Mr Bowman continues to show his confidence, picks up another 50,000 shares for $122,500. http://nzx-prod-s7fsd7f98s.s3-websit...052/419897.pdf
ARU jsut announced that the Melbourne rebels is being dissolved, Super rugby will be down to 11 teams next year unless a new team is added.
I have recently gotten rid of my SKY subscription with box etc. Was costing $100+ per month.
Now I am considering getting the SkY go sport thing.
But to my shock horror.... SKY seem to be telling me I cannot watch this on my smart tv. Ie there is no App. I need to connect a cable from my laptop to the TV, or Chromecast whatever that is.
How is this even possible in 2024? Why is there no App like TVNZ+ or Amazon Prime or Netfix etc that SKY have that I can put on my TV.
Very disappointing.
Or have I missed something?
What TV have you got?
I think they do have it on some TV’s - but I agree that it is nuts that they don’t have it available on all Smart TV’s.
I have a Sony Bravia (maybe a year old) and it does not have the app available either.
I have an Apple TV which does have the app, so when I sub for a month here and there it is pretty seamless.
I have a 4 year old Samsung QLED and it does have the app...
A 5 year old LG. But why cant you download the app on the app store of the TV. That would be sensible....
Chromecast is a $60ish dollar device you plug into your TV's HDMI port, its small about the size of a normal coaster for a beer. You connect it to your wifi then you run the spark app on your phone. You push a "chromecast" button in the sky app and whatever you click on to watch in the app, appears on your TV. cheap and effective. A lot of/most modern TV's have this functionality built in anyway so you don't even need chromecast
I see His Majesty The King has just taken a slice of Sky TV.
https://api.nzx.com/public/announcem...621-420558.pdf
SKT up 7% on the thinnest volume you will ever see. absolutely no conviction at all..
Go you good thing.
News Corp looking to sell Foxtel citing third party interest in a potential transaction:
News Corp is looking to sell off pay TV and streaming service Foxtel, chief executive tells shareholders - ABC News
Reverse takeover from Mediaworks this time ? :)