The State Of Video Streaming In NZ

Apple’s TV+ streaming service is coming soon, followed by Disney’s one <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12266604>. Note: Disney+ will break Sky's longtime near-monopoly on Disney content in these parts. Disney says that, ultimately, Disney+ will be the exclusive home of its content. So to get a comparable range of TV content to that you currently have free-to-air, you are going to have to subscribe to two or three or maybe more different streaming services. The increasing multitude of things to pay for isn’t about choice, but about no choice at all.

On Wed, 11 Sep 2019 12:03:36 +1200, I wrote:
Apple’s TV+ streaming service is coming soon ...
Here <https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/apple-tv-can-it-be-saved-before-everyones-free-trials-run-out/> is a report on how Apple TV+ has been doing in the US. Namely, not well at all.

Something I didn’t know before, seems Spark has sold its Lightbox streaming service to Sky <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12305435>, “preferring to focus its firepower on sport” -- not sure what that means? Becoming a sport-only streaming service? As for the state of Sky: ... streaming customers were now rising faster than satellite customers were falling - allowing Sky to eke out a [small] net gain in total subscribers ... for the first time in years. The bad news: streaming subs pay less than those who use decoders, and average revenue per user per month (Arpu) s[a]nk from $77.73 to $74.84 overall, contributing to another fall in revenue and profit. Interesting, also, that NZ Rugby took a 5% stake in Sky in lieu of cash for the broadcast rights.
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro