Sky to raise prices despite falling subscriber numbers

Tuesday 17th May 2016

Sky Network Television is to raise the price of its basic subscription package and its sports package despite a fall in the number of subscribers according to a report by Fairfax Media.

The monthly price of Sky Basic will rise by $0.69 to $49.91, while Sky Sports will increase by $1.61 to $29.90 a month. On May 6, the pay-TV operator warned that subscriber numbers were expected to fall further this year, leading to earnings next year missing analysts' expectations.

The Auckland-based company forecast it would have 830,000 subscribers at the end of its financial year on June 30. Subscriber numbers dropped 1.5 percent last financial year to 851,561. It expects to lose 45,000 core residential pay-TV subscribers this year and gain about 25,000 subscribers for its online services such as Neon and FanPass.

Analyst Morningstar responded to that announcement by calling for the company to cut prices in order to compete with rivals like online streaming services Netflix and Lightbox.

Shares in Sky had traded at $5.49 prior to the May 6 announcement. They have yet to recover and closed up 1% at $4.04.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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