Sky Television's price slash inadequate for Kiwi sport fans

It seems Sky Television's price drop is just "too little too late" for Kiwi sport fans.

Most Kiwis buy Sky for its sport channels, therefore, sport has remained a key area of strength for the TV provider.

Previously, Kiwis could only access Sky's sport content at a minimum of $80 per month by tagging the Sky Sport Package onto the Basic Package.

But earlier this week, Sky TV confirmed it would slash its membership prices by offering a stripped back basic option - saving its sport fans $25 a month.

Sky Basic will now be replaced with Sky Starter, which will offer a smaller number of channels at a cost of $24.91 per month - dropping the minimum cost for accessing Sky's sport channels to $55 per month.

However, the New Zealand Network have continued to receive criticism from sport fans who believe Sky haven't successfully listened to their customer's needs.

Sport viewers expressed their frustration on Facebook, arguing why Sky, who have locked down on broadcasting rights for New Zealand's tier one sports, have not yet offered a stand alone sport package.

"Decent priced sports package is what you guys need to sort out. I want sky sports for fights and rugby but not worth it for just the few fights or games I want to watch. You guys need a good sports deal!!" Lace Daley commented.

"I have a package I want you to make available. I call it "Sports Only" & would recommend it be priced about $16 a month. We're all busy people & I only have time for 1 game of footy a week. So $16 ÷ 4 Saturdays a month = $4 a game. Then & only then will I come back to you Sky. All the other stuff available doesn't interest me," wrote Tim Pearce.

A Sky spokesperson responded to a comment on its currently inundated Facebook page, saying that a stand alone package wouldn't be "viable" due to their "rights and satellite broadcast costs".

So for sport-crazy households uninterested in buying basic Sky channels to access sport, Sky Fan Pass and Pay-Per-View remain the only options.

However, Pay-Per-View, which offers the purchase of viewing one off sporting events, can cost between $30-$50 alone.

Last month, the Pay-Per-View price for Joseph Parker's heavyweight unification bout against British boxer Anthony Joshua, was set at $49.99.