Milford analyst: Sky TV heading for status of a 'sunset business'

Is Sky TV heading for the sunset?

Milford Asset Management Portfolio Manager Sam Trethewey thinks it might be.

The picture disclosed in Sky TV's reporting suggests it potentially may be heading for the status of 'sunset business'.

It really is a difficult equation for Sky TV as to what they do from here, he said.

"They have the option to further reduce prices and/or to possibly package their product up separately – so, offering a separate sports package for instance.

"But the backdrop they're facing in terms of technology competition is where they've really been left behind."

A lot of those big deals that Sky made, the big bets they've made in the past, were around their content. But that game has changed.

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Now, it's about how much you deliver to your customers and how they compete with the likes of Netflix and Lightbox.

Last month, Sky TV said its half-year profit has dropped 19.7 per cent to $53 million for the six months to December 31.

Sky has seen a slowing in the decline of overall subscriber numbers.

It currently has 750,321 subscribers, which is down 28,455 from 779,776 a year earlier.

This drop in customer numbers is more moderate than the 40,000 who were reported to have left during the previous result.

"The new CEO (Martin Stewart) has the option to go and invest in new software, and he's likely to do that in some form, or to cut prices and re-package the content," Trethewey said.

"At the moment they have cash that they can spend on these initiatives but it's running out and the market is really questioning how long will that cash be around and can they continue to pay their current dividends?

"Maybe they're at a place where they're able to do nothing more than put their finger in the dyke."