Media Insider podcast: Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney on rugby and netball rights, customer satisfaction, and buying Three 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.
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.
Watch Media Insider - The Podcast on YouTube, or listen to it on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
5 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Couple take former Pāpāmoa Beach home owner to court as she refuses to leave after mortgagee sale
The new owners sought a trespass order on May 22 to remove O'Connell and her supporters, and when that didn't work they took their case to the High Court. 'The bank does not own my property' According to a recently released High Court decision, Justice Dani Gardiner held a telephone conference on June 6, where O'Connell's position could be heard by all parties. The court was also referred to a Facebook post she made, where she invited supporters to join her at the house. There are two posts still on her Facebook page, in which she did a 'call out' for support, saying 'all I know is that the supposed settlement is Tuesday 20 May 2025 – tomorrow'. She said the purchasers had 'made a deal with the devil' and that 'the bank does not own my property, I have no business with you and I am not bound by any contract you made'. She posted that she 'would appreciate some support at my home ... tomorrow afternoon ... tomorrow night and for the next couple of days'. While not discussed in the High Court judgment, there was also a livestreamed Facebook interview that O'Connell did with Counterspin Media where she explained her views on the 'alleged debt' owed to the bank. In it, she said she had paused her mortgage repayments while the bank refused to provide her with documentation she had requested and answer questions she had. Judge: Any issues are between her and the bank, not the new owners The judge summarised O'Connell's position as primarily taking issue with the mortgagee sale process conducted by ASB. O'Connell told the court she'd tried to 'negotiate a solution' for two years, had not consented to the mortgagee sale and said ASB went ahead with the sale anyway. Terina O'Connell says she had not consented to the mortgagee sale but ASB went ahead with it anyway. Photo / Hannah Bartlett She also said ASB's solicitor advised her of the settlement date, but said she was told the couple's lawyer would contact her about vacating. She said that never happened and, the day after settlement, the new owner arrived at the property, followed by security guards and police, and she had been 'harassed'. She rejected the couple's claim that her presence at the house, with others, had posed a risk of damage to the property, adding they were there to 'support her through this stressful time' and that she would experience emotional and financial hardship if forced to leave. But Justice Gardiner's decision said the Browns were the registered owners and any issues that O'Connell had before the mortgagee sale were 'between her and ASB'. 'These issues do not affect the plaintiffs' legal ownership of the property,' Justice Gardiner said. The judge said while it may have been unfortunate if O'Connell had been unaware the couple intended to take possession of the property immediately on settlement, that was the usual case. She also accepted there was a risk of damage to the property by O'Connell or her supporters. The High Court judgment also noted that while O'Connell remained at the property, the couple were in breach of their insurance policy, as they couldn't change the locks or get an electrical warrant of fitness. They were also unable to rent the property to service their mortgage, which placed them at risk of default. The judge made an order requiring O'Connell and any other occupants to vacate the property by Monday, June 9. There has been a slight increase in the number of mortgagee sales this year. Photo / 123rf Are mortgagee sales on the rise? Cotality New Zealand data showed a 'minor lift' to 81 mortgagee sales in the second quarter of this year, up on the previous quarter when there were 52. This marked the highest number of mortgagee sales since the fourth quarter of 2023, when there were 101 mortgagee sales. However, Cotality head of research Nick Goodall said the number was 'still very low in a longer-term context, especially compared to the Global Financial Crisis'. 'I think this illustrates a more stable financial lending environment over the last decade or so, as well as the willingness and ability of banks to work closely with borrowers who may be struggling, rather than resort to mortgagee sales, which doesn't really benefit either party.' OneRoof has 58 properties currently listed as 'mortgagee sales' in New Zealand, with the total number of properties listed sitting just over 38,000. New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said banks are responsible lenders and typically have dedicated teams to deal with those experiencing financial difficulty and mortgagee sales were 'rare and always a last resort'. 'There are several options that banks may offer ... depending on their particular circumstances. That may, for example, include temporarily moving to interest-only repayments.' Beaumont said in the six months from July to December 2024, there were 1.4 million home loans across 1.1 million customers. 'As an indication of potential financial issues, of the total number of home loans in that period, 17,445 loans switched from principal and interest repayments to interest-only repayments.' Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.
The Spinoff
a day ago
- The Spinoff
‘Didn't win their confidence': Paul Glover's first day blunder on Love It Or List It NZ
The actor, turned realtor, turned Love It Or List It NZ host, shares his life in television. Paul Glover fell in love with acting by accident. As a child, his parents owned a fruit shop down a lane behind Auckland's Civic Theatre, and he remembers sneaking into the theatre, over and over again, just to watch whatever movie was showing on the big screen. 'I think my dad and mum gave heaps of fruit to the ushers, because I used to go and watch movies for free,' Glover says. 'I didn't even know what acting was, but I knew I wanted to do that sort of thing.' Since those inauspicious beginnings, Glover has become a fixture on New Zealand screens, building an extensive career that includes television shows like Educators, 800 Words, Head High and Spartacus, and films like Nude Tuesday, Out of the Blue and Snakeskin. But three years ago, Glover decided it was time for a change, and trained as a real estate agent in Auckland. Ironically, his new career led him straight back to the small screen, with Glover now the co-host of not one but two TVNZ property TV shows: Location Location Location NZ and Love It or List It NZ, which begins this Sunday night. Love It or List It NZ is based on the British property series hosted by Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp. Glover and his interior designer co-host Alex Walls meet homeowners around the motu, with Walls renovating existing homes to convince the owners to love them, while Glover tempts the homeowners to list their house by showcasing the best local homes for sale. Glover has relished the unexpected opportunity to mix his real estate skills with his experience in front of the camera. 'I've spent the better part of my life watching renovation shows, but I never imagined I'd be a realtor, let alone co-hosting one of the shows I loved.' Ahead of the launch of Love It or List NZ, we sat down with the actor-turned-realtor-turned-TV-host to find out what other shows he loves, including an After School favourite, a side-splitting Educators scene and an emotional local documentary series. My earliest TV memory is… When I went to church with my dad, I was allowed to watch Hammer House of Horror afterwards as a special treat. I watched a lot of really old Christopher Lee vampire movies, The Bionic Man, all that sort of stuff. The TV show I used to rush home from school to watch was… After School with Olly Ohlson. I loved that show so much. Also The Dukes of Hazzard and What Now. My first appearance on television was… A Chesdale Cheese commercial. I thought it was my big break. I was doing Northland youth theatre up in Whangārei, and I came back especially to shoot this TV commercial. I was about 15 years old, and I went to Waiuku and stayed in the army barracks. It was a lot of fun. A career highlight for me was… Working on Educators. It's all improvised. The story arc is there, and the wonderful thing about Jesse Griffin and Jackie Van Beek is that they say, 'what are your ideas around your character?' If there's gold, they will use it. There's no script, so we're literally just riffing off each other. I'm in constant awe of Kura Forrester and Cohen Holloway and Jonny Brugh and Jackie van Beek and Rick Donald. All of them are just so insanely talented. It's so much fun working in that space. The TV series I loved watching recently was… Choir Games. I love television that shows real people being extraordinary, and seeing them grow and step outside of themselves. That was really epic. I wish it was longer than four episodes. The funniest moment from my own TV career is… A scene from Educators, where my character was in a men's support group. I was sitting beside Rick Donald's character, who was talking about his cellmate in jail, a guy called Bushy. Organically, I went, 'oh, how did he get the name Bushy?' As soon as I asked it, I felt like it was a mistake, and then Rick just dug into this story. People behind the camera were laughing, and I was sitting there trying to keep a straight face until somebody laughed a little bit too much, and that set me off. It was hilarious, even though I felt terrible for ruining the take. My favourite TV project that I've ever been involved with is… Love It or List It NZ. I never imagined I'd be a TV presenter. I've been challenged to step out and reinvent myself, and I really value that opportunity. There were also loads of funny moments. The very first day of filming, I almost crashed the electric Mustang into the house that we were about to renovate. That probably didn't win their confidence in me. You'll find out whether they decide to love it or list it. A moment from my own career that has stayed with me is… Working on Out of the Blue. We felt a tremendous sense of responsibility making that film. The director Robert Sarkies did an amazing job of respecting everyone and honouring the story. It's a harrowing story, but tremendous people were involved and those people that survived were incredibly gracious. It was amazing to make those connections. The TV show I keep going back to is… Probably the movies we all watch together as a family, like Land of the Lost. It's a Will Ferrell movie that tanked, but it's actually very funny. We'll watch that and then play a game where one of us pretends to be the lizard running around the house, trying to capture everybody else. It's quite dangerous, because you turn off all the lights. I'm surprised nobody's run into something and broken their bones.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
The battle to get netball on TV: How did it come to this?
The Tactix celebrate winning the 2025 ANZ Premiership. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Analysis - How has New Zealand's top netball competition gone from attracting millions in broadcast rights, to having to fork out some of its own money to get it on TV? Just six years ago the Silver Ferns were on top of the world after beating Australia in the final to win the 2019 Netball World Cup. Fast-forward, and the national body finally secured a broadcast deal this week for next year's ANZ Premiership, following months of drawn-out negotiations. Sky Sport had been the major broadcast partner since 2008, but the national body is going back to TVNZ - marking the return of the sport on free-to-air television. RNZ understands that Sky TVs offer was so much lower than any of its previous deals, that Netball New Zealand didn't actually have too much to lose in rolling the dice. The new broadcast deal does not include rights for Silver Ferns matches - Netball New Zealand is still looking for a home for Test netball from 2026. How much TVNZ are actually paying for the rights, if any, won't be disclosed but it seems inevitable that players will face pay cuts. Netball NZ is taking a calculated risk that a bigger TV audience will draw more commercial revenue to make up for a massive shortfall in broadcast revenue. The one-year agreement also buys Netball New Zealand some time if it wants to explore joining the Australian league from 2027 in some capacity. It feels like netball is back where it was in 2007 before the dawn of the semi-professional trans-Tasman competition, which promised so much. But at least then the country's best players were still playing in New Zealand. Next year, nearly half the Silver Ferns could be playing in Australia. Netball World Cup 2019 winners. Photo: © (t/a Photography Hub Ltd) Netball New Zealand's stocks were high following the Silver Ferns' victory at the 2019 World Cup. When Spark emerged as a player in the sports broadcast market in 2019, Sky quickly locked down the netball rights until the end of 2024, despite having two years to run on the existing deal. In 2023 Spark Sport came to an end and Sky has had no real competition since. Tougher economic times means a lot of sports are now looking over their shoulder. Talks over a new broadcast deal between New Zealand Rugby and Sky have dragged on for months. Sky Television's profits have taken a hit , and they are tightening their belts. Sky Sport's 2025 ANZ Premiership broadcast looked a little different to previous years. The weekly Netball Zone programme was dropped, one on-site host fronted regular season games instead of two, and remote commentary was used for four of the matches. White Fern Amelia Kerr is now one of the most recognised sports personalities in NZ. Photo: Photosport Recent years have seen a surge in the popularity of women's sport globally and it's not really netball's fault that this has happened - it was always going to. As traditionally male dominated sports have invested more in their women's programmes, it's helped increase the profile of codes like of women's cricket and rugby. Netball used to be essential in Sky Sports' line-up because it was the only female sport it would broadcast on a regular basis. Women's rugby gets far more coverage on Sky than it used to, including Super Rugby Aupiki, the Farah Palmer Cup, the Black Ferns, and sevens. The same goes for women's cricket and next year will see the return to Sky of the White Ferns playing domestically. Sky also broadcasts the New Zealand women's basketball league, rugby league's NRLW, and football's A-League women's competition. And if Sky want the rights to All Blacks and Black Caps matches, New Zealand Rugby and New Zealand Cricket can leverage that to get better coverage for their women. Sky TV's Anna Stanley and Anna Harrison. Photo: PHOTOSPORT When Australian Diamonds sides used to tour New Zealand, they would be jealous of the level of media coverage the Silver Ferns got. But former Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander told RNZ earlier this year that she had noticed a shift. "There was so much more coverage in New Zealand [back then] and I think you've taken it for granted to be quite honest because it's really hard to get it back," Alexander said. "In Australia we are fighting very very hard to have our slice of the media pie and it's still very tough …but I'm now a columnist, I write about netball - I wouldn't have dreamed of that 10 years ago." It probably took Netball NZ too long to recognise that with more female sports vying for eyeballs, it had to actively generate more intrigue in its showpiece competition. A concerted effort to attract top-tier quality import players to the ANZ Premiership from the start would have helped it compete with the Australian league. But a one import player per team limit and a lack of ambition in targeting a pool of top talent, meant that ship sailed a long time ago. NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark and players at the launch of the ground-breaking ANZ Championship, March 2008. Photo: James Ensing-Trussell Oh how the tables have turned. Between 2008 and 2016, revenue generated from New Zealand propped up the former trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. Broadcast revenue from Sky was divvied up equally among the franchises on both sides of the Tasman to cover the salary cap. But after banking more than $10 million from Sky for eight years, eventually Australia didn't need New Zealand anymore. Netball Australia finally started carrying some clout with their broadcasters and secured a paid broadcast deal for the first time. Australia's Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) competition struggles to break even, but crowds and viewership have been growing and the SSN pays the highest salaries of any league. England Netball launched a new-look Netball Super League (NSL) this year, marking a significant step towards professionalism. For the first time all games were available to watch, and the average salary increased by at least 60 percent. New Zealand was a couple of decades ahead of the curve when TVNZ started broadcasting netball regularly from the 1980's. It's only been in the last few years that other countries finally figured out that broadcasting women's sport is actually pretty cool. Any novelty factor has long gone in New Zealand, but England Netball and Netball Australia are riding that wave of momentum - and they operate in bigger economies. Kelly Jackson Photo: PHOTOSPORT It would be easy to conclude that the quality of the ANZ Premiership must be declining, that less people are playing netball, and viewership is dwindling - but that's not the case. Netball NZ said this year's domestic competition saw record-breaking crowds. Its 2024 annual report described last year's ANZ Premiership as the most popular season yet and that viewership was up over 1.7 million viewers - "another large increase year-on-year for the competition." It reported a 50 percent increase in ANZ Premiership viewership and over 35 percent increase in Constellation Cup audience in New Zealand. Silver Fern defender Kelly Jackson said the country's top netballers were still among the best in the world. "I think the hardest part of all to accept in these troubling times is that the product we are putting out on court is still to a really high standard and that's not being reflected in what's going on," Jackson said. The Silver Ferns beat Australia 3-1 in the Constellation Cup last year, suggesting the ANZ Premiership can't be too bad. Players' Association boss Steph Bond said participation rates were still miles ahead of other female sports. "The community game is still growing … there is definitely the fans and the people that are supporting the game just at this point in time we don't seem to be able to be getting that turned into dollars and making that a difference at that level," Bond said. The National Bank Cup final in Invercargill, 2005. The Southern Sting had a huge fanbase. Photo: Richard Jones Netball New Zealand's move to free-to-air might see some short-term pain for long-term gain. No longer will people miss out on watching the domestic competition because they can't afford a Sky subscription. In the 1980s, 90s, and 2000s most budding young netballers would have been able to name every member of the Silver Ferns and that helped netball hold its own against male codes. In 2024, Netball NZ trialled free-to-air coverage of the ANZ Premiership, and this year Saturday games were screened exclusively on TVNZ. If fans are the bedrock of professional sport then opening up the sport to more of them could ultimately pay off for Netball New Zealand. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
