Sky New Zealand completes Lightbox acquisition

Sky New Zealand has acquired SVOD Lightbox from Spark.

The deal, which was originally announced in December 2019, will see Sky merge Lightbox with its own Neon entertainment streamer to create what it calls is “a super-charged service for New Zealand customers.”

The deal includes Spark customers who receive ‘Lightbox on us’ from Spark continuing to enjoy the service, along with plans to offer the new merged service to Spark customers once it has launched.

Sky said that more details on the new offer will be revealed closer to the launch date.

Sophie Moloney, Sky’s chief legal, people and partnerships officer, said: “We are delighted to welcome over 130,000 Lightbox customers to the Sky world, and look forward to delivering a super-charged new service to all New Zealanders towards the middle of this year. We also welcome the Lightbox team to Sky and look forward to working together to create a special new service.

“Neon and Lightbox have a superb line-up of content, including Outlander, Love Island UK, The Handmaid’s Tale and Westworld. Bringing them together will create the leading locally-delivered streaming service for New Zealanders.”

Upon announcing the deal in December, Spark’s marketing director Matt Bain said that the merger would create a better future for the industry in New Zealand. He said: “Selling the Lightbox business to Sky ensures a sustainable future for Kiwi SVOD services, while giving us the ongoing ability to provide access to a high-quality TV and movie streaming service, which benefits from a significantly enhanced range of entertainment content from Sky.”