Spark to give away Netflix for a year
A partnership between Spark and internet television provider Netflix is good for consumers and a sign of competition in the broadband market, says InternetNZ.
Spark will give away Netflix’s standard New Zealand service for a year to customers on its uncapped broadband plans.
Customers need to sign up to a two-year contract to qualify for the one-off freebie, which is worth just under $180.
Existing customers can also take up the offer so long as they recommit to Spark for two years, but it is not available to customers of Spark’s ‘‘discount’’ BigPipe and Skinny broadband brands.
The agreement between Spark and Netflix was announced days after the Commerce Commission declined to grant clearance for Sky Television to merge its business with Vodafone New Zealand.
InternetNZ opposed that merger, but its chief executive Jordan Carter said Spark’s partnership with Netflix was different because there was no ‘‘exclusive’’ content for Spark involved.
‘‘Anyone can come along and buy a Netflix subscription. It seems to be functioning more like an incentive to sign up to Spark.’’
Other internet providers also offered incentives to sign up to some broadband plans, he said.
For example, Vodafone offered a $300 credit, Orcon an XBox One gaming console, MyRepublic a PS4, and Trustpower a Samsung television.
‘‘I think it is a nice sign of competition in the market and my advice would be for consumers to shop around for the package that they want,’’ Carter said.
‘‘If Netflix was saying ‘these top 10 shows are only going to be available if you buy our bundle through Spark’, that would be a concern, but it doesn’t look like that is what is happening.’’
Spark spokeswoman Ellie Cross said its arrangement with Netflix was ‘‘exclusive’’, in that no other telco could offer Netflix bundled with broadband for the next 12 months.
Vodafone also has a global partnership with Netflix and has in the past provided six months’ free Netflix with some of its New Zealand mobile plans.
Its spokeswoman, Andrea Brady, said it would offer ‘‘future partnerships’’ but did not clarify whether they might be with Netflix.
‘‘The Netflix deal announced by Spark is not unexpected,’’ she said. ‘‘Netflix works with all telco providers to offer promotional deals for defined time periods.’’
Spark said it would continue to offer its separate Lightbox internet television service, which it launched in 2014.
‘‘Many households now use a combination of entertainment services such as Netflix and Lightbox to access all the hit shows and movies they love,’’ spokesman Jason Paris said.
About a third of the data carried over Spark’s broadband network on an average evening was Netflix and Lightbox streams, he said. ‘‘Our business model is changing; we are no longer simply a traditional telco. This partnership is a step on the road toward Spark becoming a go-to destination for media and entertainment.
‘‘Our ambition is for Spark to become a preferred content provider for New Zealanders, delivering a range of potential content from television and video – to sport and so on – and a simple way to access the content that most interests them.’’
The arrangement between Spark and Netflix has some parallels with Spark’s marketing partnership with streaming music service Spotify. Spark gives away Spotify Premium indefinitely with some higher-priced mobile plans.
Commerce Commission chairman Mark Berry appeared to clear the way for a free-for-all in partnerships between entertainment television providers and internet providers on Thursday.
Berry said the market for television entertainment was competitive and the commission’s central concern with the Sky/ Vodafone merger had been Sky Sports. ‘‘Had the merger not included Vodafone acquiring all of the premium sports content we would have likely approved this merger,’’ he said on Thursday.
Commenting on Friday ahead of the marketing partnership with Netflix, Forsyth Barr analyst Blair Galpin said it would be no surprise. ‘‘Our view all along has been it made more sense for Spark to do a deal with Netflix than to launch Lightbox,’’ he said.