Six months ago, Sky TV was in a world of pain - dealing with the fallout of an ageing satellite, failing reception and customer fury. Now it’s bought a key competitor for $1, and its share price sits at five-year highs. CEO Sophie Moloney sits down for a wide-ranging discussion
Media Insider podcast: Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney on rugby and netball rights, customer satisfaction, and buying Three for $1
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“The Rebel Alliance is where we might be, with Three,” jokes Moloney, referencing Sky’s startling announcement earlier last week that the pay-TV operator had bought free-to-air Three (TV3) and Three Now from Warner Bros Discovery for $1.
The cash-free, debt-free deal is officially sealed tomorrow - Sky takes over Three, although, as Moloney suggests on the Media Insider podcast today, there will be a significant bedding-in period, and viewers should notice little change early on.
But make no mistake, the new deal pits Sky TV in even more direct competition with TVNZ for audience eyeballs and still-lucrative free-to-air TV advertising revenue. At the same time, TVNZ is implementing a new digital strategy, which will see it have the capability to introduce subscription TV and take on Sky for more sports rights and possibly other programming.
In today’s wide-ranging discussion on the Media Insider podcast, Moloney talks about how the Three deal came to fruition and the dangers of thinking that programmes that work well on pay TV will also succeed on free-to-air TV.
She discusses rebuilding customer satisfaction and loyalty following the satellite issues earlier this year. Sky customers certainly hold the company to account - there’s even a Facebook page, with 10,000 followers, dedicated to complaints and issues.
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Meanwhile, investors have been very happy with the company’s performance and the Three acquisition - the company’s share price has sat at five-year highs over the past week.
Where the company was punished three years ago for trying to buy radio and outdoor advertising firm MediaWorks, investors see far more natural synergies with a free-to-air and broadcast-video-on-demand (bvod) business in Three.
We start the podcast by delving into sports rights - another headline-dominating issue for Sky.
Moloney discusses the announcement this week that Sky has lost domestic netball rights next year - and the factors behind that - as well as the latest discussions for lucrative rugby rights.
Moloney still expects TVNZ to have rights for some New Zealand rugby matches over the next five years, despite Sky’s acquisition of Three.
She expects TVNZ will screen some NPC domestic games - matches that Sky has declared it does not want in the new five-year deal.
Instead, Sky will focus on All Blacks and Super Rugby games - with the free-to-air rights for those games now likely to appear on Three.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
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