New Sky TV box on the way: the good news and the bad news

Sky TV boss Martin Stewart confirmed today that his company is actively evaluating a “next-generation box” that would replace its set-top boxes for some customers.

The good news: The new features, which were included in a customer survey that was leaked to Geekzone, include:

• Support for 4K or ultra-high resolution video, four times the image quality of today’s set-top boxes.

• Gives you the ability to load your own applications, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney +, 3Now, and TVNZ OnDemand

• Allows you to view all regular Sky channels plus content on demand, but via a broadband internet connection rather than requiring a satellite dish

• A remote control with voice search.

• One terabyte hard drive

The next-gen Sky box will run on Google’s Android software, cost $ 199 upfront or $ 19 a month for a year – a turnaround for Sky, which previously didn’t charge directly for hardware.

The sum, spread over Sky’s remaining 585,000 subssatellites, would cover development costs. The last major upgrade to Sky’s set-top box cost the company $ 120 million.

The bad news: it could take a while.

Stewart said that “nothing is final at this point,” in terms of design or deadlines, but that the earliest the next-gen box could arrive would be June of next year.

“The bottom line is that we are actually asking our customers what they would like to see and what they would value,” said Sky’s CEO.

“And I’m pretty clear and strong messages are getting through about what people would see as a good step forward from where we are today.

“But it takes a while to build a new box. So it will be fiscal year 2022. [starting July 1, 2021] before deploying something. “

For industry observers, the next-generation box that Sky has presented to a panel of customers, in the form of PowerPoint, is similar in features to the Vodafone TV box from Vodafone NZ.

And to the Android “disk” first proposed by Stewart’s predecessor John Fellet, but dropped in the early days of the Stewart regime.

Why bring it back now, when 404,000 of current Sky customers are streaming Sky’s Neon, SkySportNow or RugbyPass through their own Smart TV, Google Chromecast, iPad, or other device?

Stewart told the Herald that people are “getting application fatigued” according to Sky customer surveys. They were sick of juggling multiple devices or having multiple boxes connected to their television.

There is an appetite for a “one-stop shop” like the next-generation Skybox that will allow people to watch regular TV, Sky content, and whatever app they like.

That sounds like Fellet’s Android disk. Why was it scrapped, with millions in development costs written off? Why start over?

“It’s just that sometimes when you put all the different partners together, sometimes things don’t turn out the way you would like. And I think we find ourselves in a position where we just screwed up rabbit hole, and we have to backtrack. and start over, “says Stewart.

One of the few drawbacks to today’s Vodafone TV (and Fellet’s planned album) is that it’s not a one-stop shop. Installing Spark Sport is not an option.

Stewart says it’s too early to give a definitive list of content for the next-gen Sky box.

“But I’ve been saying this since I got here that we are open to partnering with everyone and Spark is no different.

“I don’t think there is any barrier to any form of combination. It’s just a question of whether there is a will on both sides.”

Stewart also provided more details on Sky’s foray into broadband today, which will take the broadcaster’s fight with Spark into the telco’s own turf.

Sky’s boss said that he and the rest of the staff were testing Sky Broadband, a
UFB fiber service to be provided in partnership with Chorus.

A commercial launch will follow in the first half of next year, initially offering Internet service to Sky’s own customers at a reduced price in an attempt to keep them loyal.

Sky’s broadband offer recalls the Sky-Vodafone merger that was blocked by the Commerce Commission and the courts.

Is Stewart concerned about regulatory intervention if his company offers sports at discounted prices to attract people to its broadband, or vice versa?

“I don’t think the law prevents you from starting a new line of business,” he said.

Earlier today, Sky reported a loss of $ 156.8 million for the full year, but the red ink was reduced to a deterioration in goodwill and the pay TV broadcaster forecast a return to earnings next year, with its result final driven by the earlier than expected return of sport.