Sky pays $6m for Lightbox; eyes 1m subscribers

Wed, 12 Feb 2020

Sky Network Television paid $6 million for Spark New Zealand’s Lightbox entertainment service as it chases a million customers.The pay-TV operator settled the deal this month, adding 130,000 active users, including those customers who received the service as part of their Spark broadband bundle. Sky will pay the fair value of prepaid content rights, which has yet to be settled, and as part of the deal, Spark will continue to make Lightbox available to its 695,000 broadband customers.Sky reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of $11....

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Politics Opinion

New York and other American cities need immigrants

Suddenly overrun by foreign residents? Nonsense! They've been here all along.

Bloomberg 5:00am

Travel

Thumbs-up for human masseur over robot

A robot’s care is put to the test against a human massage therapist’s.

The Wall Street Journal 5:00am

Cars

BMW 120 review: the (lower) power of one

This high-quality package delivers everything you expect from a compact BMW.

Damien O’Carroll 5:00am

BMW 120 review: the (lower) power of one

Sponsored

Wired for change: How bespoke leadership is fuelling the energy transition

New Zealand’s homes, businesses and lives are increasingly being powered by electricity.

University of Auckland School of Business

Sponsored

Tough conversations ahead as cost of living drives employee requests for pay rises

Rising living costs put pressure on both workers and employers.

Moneyfit

More Services

Services

Food Chain report shows $9m owing

More than $9.1m is owing in the liquidation of food supplier Food Chain, the first report in the insolvency shows. The company, which has ceased trading, had approximately 60 staff, and is also in receivership. The first liquidators' report of Adam Botterill and Damien Grant...

Staff reporters 11 Jul 2025