Sky reaches limit of online options
Sky Television has slashed the options for people who want to watch Sky Sport online without signing up to its satellite television service.
In a surprise move, the company said it would no longer sell daily and weekly online passes to non-Sky subscribers through its Fan
Pass service. It would still offer a monthly online pass, but its price would go up from $60 a month to $100 from May 24.
Fan Pass had become a tempting option for occasional sports fans who wanted to ‘‘mix and match’’ freeto-air television and streaming entertainment services, such as Netflix,
Neon and Lightbox, and who did not want to sign up to Sky proper.
Sky chief executive John Fellet acknowledged the changes were ‘‘bad news’’. But, he said, no other major internet television service, including Netflix, offered daily or weekly viewing options.
‘‘Netflix doesn’t allow you to come in on a Saturday, binge view House of Cards and then disconnect.’’
Spark chief executive Simon Moutter said Sky’s move was an ‘‘extraordinary demonstration of backward thinking and monopolistic pricing power’’.
‘‘It reduces options and raises prices for New Zealanders wanting to watch sports online.
‘‘Everyone knows that consumers want the opposite – more options that let them watch the particular sports they are interested in online, without having to pay exorbitant prices or pay for other content they don’t want,’’ he said.
Fellet said Fan Pass, which launched in 2015, had always been an experiment.
Daily passes had cost $15 and weekly ones $20, but Sky offered regular discounts to increase uptake.
Fellet denied the service had been curtailed out of concerns it was cannibalising Sky’s satellite subscription base.
‘‘We would have been happy if it had cannibalised, if it generated more revenue. As best as you try to cater for everyone, sometimes it is just not worth the effort,’’ he said.
Sky communicated the changes in an email to customers.
It explained the changes by saying it had launched Fan Pass to ‘‘give Kiwis the freedom to dip in and out of sport by offering short-term flexible passes’’ but ‘‘sports rights weren’t cheap’’.
‘‘It’s just not stacking up for us, as much as we’ve tried to make it work,’’ it said.
Spark had forecast that
Sky might make its content more widely available online in the event its proposed merger with Vodafone NZ was rejected by the Commerce Commission.
Moutter indicated last month that it would be interested in wholesaling a sports-only online service such as Fan Pass.
Fellet said that remained a possibility.
‘‘We are talking to a couple of telecommunications companies about Neon and Fan Pass. We are always wide open on those deals,’’ he said.
Sky will add a six-month option for Fan Pass, costing $330.