Sky just reverted to a single NEON package (TV + Movies) and slashed the price to $13.95 per month.
Pretty aggressive.
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Sky just reverted to a single NEON package (TV + Movies) and slashed the price to $13.95 per month.
Pretty aggressive.
Very interesting.
The new CEO has increased the short term risks to dividends, revenue and profits, but it does appear that he's going to have an honest go at ensuring Sky actually has a future.
Gee, Twitter and facebook are awash with comments about just how good Sky was and how they never dropped the ball (pun intended) on big games. So unfair! Are these people crazy?
Sky is just for the fuddy-duddy who hasn't embraced the new technology. It's for those sticks in the mud who can't be bothered: buying a chrome cast; upgrading a TV; finding out that the new TV was not quite the right model; updating a device to stream to the TV; finding out that the whole thing wasn't working anyway and then switching back to broadcast TV to watch it on Duke anyway. Just Luddites.
I streamed the Cricket World Cup via Sky, it worked well but assume they must have just got lucky. Oh and the Ashes worked perfectly too in 1080p and not one frame was dropped over 25 days of cricket but yeah, what would Sky know. Just so yesterday.
And then there's this bloke, some marketing expert with decades of experience who claims:
"But as a sports fan, I know the picture on Spark Sport is not as good as it would be on Sky.
Goodale says the point of technology is really to move things forward and improve the experience, but Spark simply hasn't done that in this instance.
"You have to ask whether Spark really needs to be in this space when there have been operations like Sky doing it for a long time and do it really well."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12269788
Wow, this guy needs to get with the programme. Sky, you know, is just not sexy.
As an old fuddy-duddy I just can not be bothered with the new technology.
Installed Sky when it came to ChCh for Formula 1,and Rugby,.
Now no Formula 1, so I catch up on YouTube.
WCR I just went on line and read reports, and You Tube high lights this morning.
Must admit I had a fantastic day at Ashley Forest Rally Sprint today.Standard of driving was excellent.
Haydon Paddon was absolutely incredible.
Great meeting,great organisation.
ps.Own Spark shares and have Spark for phone and internet.
Do not own any Sky shares.
Nice that you had a lovely day out. I went for a ride on my scooter and bought some chelsea buns at New World.
I think this will be an interesting week ahead.
It is literally exactly the same to stream on Spark Sport as it it to watch a video on Youtube. People get nervous when they hear 'streaming' or 'on demand' but you've been doing it on Youtube for years, it's just a different website or App.
Don't be scared of new technology Percy, you might find you like it.
I'll accept part of your "fuddy-duddy" argument but not all of it.
To be honest, part of the fuddy-duddy argument would have to be aimed at my wife - she LIKES the fact that you push one button to turn on the TV, another button to turn on the Sky, and that's it. It's simple; it works. If she has to start firing up Netflix to watch one series, Amazon Prime to watch something else, Lightbox for a movie, TVNZ Ondemand for yet something else she just won't want to know.
Keep in mind also, that Sky still has the monopoly on UK TV, and the programs on there appeal to a lot of people. AFAIK there is no LEGAL alternative to watch UK TV here in NZ.
For me its not even the fuddy duddy argument. I do not mind paying SKY $98 per month for the sports. If I had to pay NBA.com, ESPN, Spark Sport, EPL, ATP.com and cricket (when they start streaming) all a different subscription package it would be way more expensive to watch my sports. I do not begrudge SKY the bundling they have done. I believe un-bundling in the end will cost the consumer a heck of a lot more and leave them with less choice for $ than the past model. That said, SKY should have come to the party earlier with online content and all available at once (ie like Netflix)
Fully agree. Unbundling will in the end make it difficult/costly for the consumer.
The problem for Sky is that they became fat, lazy and arrogant over the years with the lack of competition, and 'hated' by their customers for it. Fellet stayed waaaay too long and thought they were immune to competition, even when it did finally come.
Apparently they are talking about the rights to the next Rugby World Cup now. Wonder if Sparks little hiccup at the weekend impacts on that at all.
I think Sky were in the drivers seat anyway for future rugby rights, including the next RWC. This fiasco from Spark might be the final nail in the coffin for anyone at Sanzaar, NZ Rugby etc who may have been keen to look at their offering.
Even if Spark managed to stream without any issues, this is still a huge commercial failure to them. And many Kiwi's have missed out on live coverage.
The biggest streaming volumes Spark were likely to get was the AB v SA match on Saturday. The rest of the AB pool matches won't draw massive crowds, and the AB presumed QF, both semis and the final will all be free live on TV1.
So the biggest volume they will likely get is 132,000 subscribers. Two issues with that:
1. It's probably fair to say that a significant chunk of that number got the tournament pass for free, if not the majority. So who knows how much revenue they generated for this tournament. If they paid $13M (as reported) for the tournament, they probably spent that again at least on their streaming platform, plus paying for the TVNZ coverage in Japan etc etc. So their sport offering has not been able to stand up on its own feet, and Spark shareholders are having to subsidise this project with profits from their core telco business.
2. Even though they were giving the tournament pass away for free in the end (to those who signed up for phone or internet plans), they could still only get 132,000 business and residential premises to sign up. If we look at the last AB match Sky broadcast (against Aussie), between Sky TV decoders and Sky Sport NOW...Sky had damn near 600,000 paying customers watch their live broadcast. The biggest rugby tournament in the world that Kiwi's absolutely love, and Spark could only get maybe one fifth of the audience Sky was able to. That is a terrible outcome for New Zealanders.
If I was negotiating sport broadcasting rights right now, I would think that Sky is the obvious choice. It was ironic that Sparks failure to make the new 'way of the future' streaming a success, meant they had to fall back to trusty Satellite on the Duke channel to save what was left of their bacon. I don't have access to Duke, so had to persevere with a fuzzy picture on Spark Sport, but from what I gather the satellite broadcast was perfect uninterrupted HD.
You make some excellent points, mistaTea.
Another interesting article - this guy wasn't taking any chances. The RWC was made available to commercial Sky customers through a pop up channel, I understand.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/sport/rugb...ort/ar-AAHEh9N
For some time now, I have maintained that Sky TV's satellite platform remains a competitive advantage, not a disadvantage.
Sure, they do need to sort out their pricing to ensure customers feel they are getting more value than they are paying for, but in terms of the actual platform...it remains the most reliable method of broadcasting HD live sport from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
Sky Sport NOW will certainly grow in popularity over time, but having a significant satellite base means that Sky can shift to streaming as a process of evolution, not revolution. While internet technology is still improving, Sky will continue to be able to reach large audiences and carry a much smaller risk of a major meltdown. And New Zealanders have choice with them - if they don't like the reliability of streaming they can get a satellite Sport package for $55/month. If they are 'new age', have fibre and keen to take a Sport-only streaming option, Sky have them covered with a $39.99 offering. Customer's aren't forced one way or the other, it's entirely up to them.