Yep, for the price of just *one* New Zealand dollar, Sky NZ will own the free-to-air channels Three, eden, Rush, and HGTV, and the streaming service ThreeNow.
Three Network's channels play a lot of American TV shows, which will continue as part of the sale deal for at least a few more years. Sky NZ already bought the free-to-air channel "Prime" a few years ago and changed the name to "Sky Open" (probably due to the original name conflicting with Amazon's services).
The Three Network and channels have had various owners over the years, so it remains to be seen what Sky NZ expects they can do that the previous others couldn't ... and whether they actually can do it.
Sky Buys Discovery NZ for Bottom Dollar
---------------------------------------
Sky TV has just announced it is buying Discovery NZ in a bottom-dollar
deal that includes the Three network, its free-to-air sister channels
and ThreeNow.
Here's the media release:
Sky poised for growth with acquisition of Discovery NZ
Sky New Zealand (Sky) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) today
announced that Sky will purchase 100% of the shares in the
local WBD subsidiary Discovery NZ Limited (Discovery NZ).
Discovery NZ owns and operates Three, ThreeNow, eden, Rush,
and HGTV.
WBD will retain ownership of its remaining assets in the
New Zealand market, including pay TV channels, streaming
service HBO Max and Warner Bros. International Television
Production (WBITVP) New Zealand.
The acquisition of Discovery NZ delivers a suite of
complementary assets to Sky's existing portfolio, including
broadcast video on demand (BVOD) platform ThreeNow, and
free-to-access linear channels.
Sky will be acquiring the shares in Discovery NZ for $1 on a
cash-free, debt-free basis. The deal also includes a
multi-year commercial agreement for continued supply of
WBD's premium content.
Sophie Moloney, Chief Executive of Sky said: "This is an
exciting, future-focused step for Sky and a win for our
growth and ambition to be Aotearoa New Zealand's most
engaging and essential media company.
"It positions us to scale faster, puts real momentum into
our strategy, and grows and further diversifies our revenue
streams, particularly in advertising and digital.
"ThreeNow and Three are much-loved brands. We recognise the
substantial work and investment undertaken by Discovery NZ in
the past 12 months to create a more digital-focused business
with a significantly reduced cost base.
"We are confident Sky is uniquely placed to take the business
forward and give effect to the opportunity to accelerate our
growth strategy.
"We see strong value in ThreeNow's high quality broadcast
video on demand platform, and Three's mass reach, and we are
looking forward to creating opportunities to do more with our
content, for more New Zealanders, in more ways that work for
them across a comprehensive portfolio of subscription and
free-to-access platforms."
Michael Brooks, Managing Director Australia and New Zealand
for WBD, said: "This is a fantastic outcome for both WBD and
Sky.
"The continued challenges faced by the New Zealand media
industry are well documented, and over the past 12 months,
the Discovery NZ team has worked to deliver a new, more
sustainable business model following a significant
restructure in 2024.
"While this business is not commercially viable as a
standalone asset in the WBD New Zealand portfolio, we see the
value Three and ThreeNow can bring to Sky's existing offering
of complementary assets.
"The transaction includes a significant and ongoing content
supply agreement for WBD's premium content, for the mutual
benefit of both parties.
"We have been proud custodians of Three and ThreeNow, and
recognise the special place they hold for New Zealanders, and
as part of the wider media environment. Sky provides a viable
new home for these much-loved brands and we look forward to
seeing them evolve in this next chapter."
Completion of the sale is expected to take place on 1 August
2025, and Juliet Peterson, Vice President, Head of Networks,
will continue to lead the Discovery NZ business, reporting to
Sophie Moloney.
Sky has no immediate plans to change the content line up on
any of the Discovery NZ platforms related to this acquisition.
The two businesses are working together on a structured
transition plan that will see the Discovery NZ team join Sky
in the coming months.
Sophie Moloney continues: "We are looking forward to welcoming
our new colleagues. They are an excellent and highly-regarded
team with strong capabilities in digital, free-to-access and
advertising. We will be supporting everyone closely as we work
through the details of the longer-term transition."
Sky and Discovery NZ gave the Commerce Commission confidential
advance notice of the transaction. The Commission looked at
the commercial circumstances and advised the parties that it
did not intend to consider the acquisition further.
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[NZ NEWS] Sky NZ buys Discovery NZ free-to-air network