Sky and Voda: NO. Spark and Netflix: YES!
The Commerce Commission said ‘no’ to Vodafone and Sky TV last week. It is fair to say that both Sky TV and Vodafone didn’t see that coming and it has left them reeling. At the time, wondered “Why the need for one balance sheet? Why not just partner up?”.
Feb. 27 (BusinessDesk) – Spark New Zealand has announced what it says is an exclusive deal with Netflix to offer bundled packages, just days after the Commerce Commission rejected Sky Network Television’s proposed merger with Vodafone New Zealand on the basis it would stifle competition, especially in access to premium sports content.
Under the Spark-Netflix tie-up, Spark broadband customers will get a one-year subscription to Netflix’s standard plan when they signed up to a 24-month ‘Unlimited Data Spark’ broadband plan, the telecommunications company said in a statement. The Netflix deal would “sit alongside Spark’s current Lightbox offer”, it said.
Chief executive Simon Moutter said the deal was “consistent with our shift towards becoming a digital services provider, rather than just a traditional telco.
Spark has an institutional understanding of making strategic partnerships. Apart from the Xtra/Yahoo! one, which Telecom/Spark was seriously let down on, they generally add value to both partners without the need for complicated merger or takeover processes. Read more »

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.
They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.
He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.
Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.
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