Spark completes sale of Lightbox to Sky
Monday, 3 February 2020
Sky Television has completed its purchase of Spark's Lightbox streaming TV service, which it will merge with its own online television entertainment service Neon.
Sky said in a release to the NZX that Lightbox had just over 130,000 active customers, meaning subscribers who had used the service during the past 30 days.
Spokeswoman Kristy Martin said the figure included both paying subscribers and those who got Lightbox as part a Spark promotion.
The companies originally announced the proposed sale in December.
Sky has yet to say when the services will merge, how much the combined service will cost, and whether it will use Lightbox or Neon's technology platform.
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Spark's spokeswoman Ellie Cross did not reveal the sale price, citing commercial sensitivity.
Neither company marked the NZX announcement on the completion of the deal as 'price sensitive', suggesting they do not expect it to be material to their share prices.
Until the launch of the new merged service, Lightbox and Neon customers will continue to access content on their respective services with no changes to price or the way they access the service.
That includes people who get Lightbox free as part of their Spark broadband or mobile plan.
Once the merged streaming service launches, Spark plans to make that available to its customers as well.
Neon's programming includes movies, and gritty US dramas popular on Sky's SoHo channel.
Lightbox has had a more eclectic content mix stemming from its early focus on European shows, but has snagged some big hits, including The Handmaid's Tale and Castle Rock.