WEBVTT - How Sky's $1 acquisition of Three could reshape NZ television

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<v Speaker 1>Kyoda.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a

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<v Speaker 2>daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald. Another one

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<v Speaker 2>dollar deal and another big shakeup for the New Zealand

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<v Speaker 2>media industry. SkyTV has snapped up broadcast Network three and

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<v Speaker 2>its associated platforms and we'll have control of them by August. First.

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<v Speaker 2>It sees the exit of another international player in the

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<v Speaker 2>local media landscape, with Warner Brothers Discovery retreating a year

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<v Speaker 2>after it closed down three's news outfit news Hub. So

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<v Speaker 2>what does this new media merger mean for the industry

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<v Speaker 2>and could this change how you watch the All Blacks Today?

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<v Speaker 2>On the Front Page, host of the Fold podcast asked

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<v Speaker 2>for the spin off, Duncan Grieve is with us to

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<v Speaker 2>discuss how this shakes things up. Duncan, how shocked were

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<v Speaker 2>you about this news?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think shocked is the right word, because there'd

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<v Speaker 1>been a sort of a slow drifting together and rising

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<v Speaker 1>the the idea for a while, but a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>things get floated around and a rumored that never actually

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<v Speaker 1>come to anything. So not shocked, but suddenly surprised and

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<v Speaker 1>just excited because I think this industry needs some dynamism

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<v Speaker 1>and needs a level of competition, and three in Sky

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<v Speaker 1>just makes sense together. Sometimes you see things come together

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<v Speaker 1>and you're like, I don't know about that, but this

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<v Speaker 1>you're like, okay, this makes sense and and so what

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<v Speaker 1>it does for the the sort of energy, the dynamism,

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<v Speaker 1>the level of competition within the industry that was that

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<v Speaker 1>was the kind of the big thing that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>just jumped out to everyone as soon as it happened.

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<v Speaker 2>So when you say, come on competition in the industry,

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<v Speaker 2>you meaning TV and Z.

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<v Speaker 1>I think, well, look, I haven't spending twenty on TV

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<v Speaker 1>and Z yet, and I'm sure, well, I'm sure if

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<v Speaker 1>I did, they would say that, no, this is great.

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<v Speaker 1>We welcome competition. I know the line. That's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>why sometimes I don't even want to ask, but I

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<v Speaker 1>think fundamentally, TV and Z has always been number one.

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<v Speaker 1>It's always had a huge share of audience. But more

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<v Speaker 1>than that, it's even had a bigger share of the

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<v Speaker 1>advertising market. It makes roughly three hundred million dollars in

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<v Speaker 1>advertising revenue versus around one hundred for three. But Sky

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<v Speaker 1>is sort of rapidly gaining there. It's put a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of emphasis on there. And if you just dropped one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred million dollars in ad revenue. Not to make it

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<v Speaker 1>all about the commercial or about the ads, but it

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<v Speaker 1>just puts them on a much more even footing. And fundamentally,

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<v Speaker 1>I do think that I don't think this is any

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<v Speaker 1>kind of existing challenge for TV ins there. But what

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<v Speaker 1>we do have here is too much more balanced than

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<v Speaker 1>well matched opponents in the local TV market. Then we've

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<v Speaker 1>probably hadn't quite some time.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, So a one dollar deal or is it really

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, they're not actually buying like people will see

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<v Speaker 2>that and then it's I'm got a couple of bunks.

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<v Speaker 2>I could have brought that up to five on trade me,

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<v Speaker 2>what does it actually mean when a company buys another

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<v Speaker 2>company for a dollar?

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<v Speaker 1>Say, as far as I know, there is an actual

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<v Speaker 1>transaction you do walk into and it's a bit of

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<v Speaker 1>a photo op you hand over the dollar coin kind

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<v Speaker 1>of thing. But obviously that is a symbolic gesture. It

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<v Speaker 1>says we will take on the company as a going concern,

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<v Speaker 1>including and it was the major thing all of the

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<v Speaker 1>ongoing contracts. You know that three has been a loss

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<v Speaker 1>making enterprise viewed in isolation for quite some time. That said,

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<v Speaker 1>people have always thought it could be more than it

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<v Speaker 1>currently is. It's why it's for what I understand to

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<v Speaker 1>be US twenty million less than five years ago. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's kind of been a bit of an orphane like

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<v Speaker 1>it had been with a radio company. It's never quite

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<v Speaker 1>had the scale to properly compete with a tvN's head.

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<v Speaker 1>And now that it's next to this subscription beast with

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<v Speaker 1>a million customers, that is Sky a real powerhouse and sports.

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<v Speaker 1>Sky already spends more money on content than anyone else.

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<v Speaker 1>It's now just got another place to look at to

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<v Speaker 1>put it and a place that people are used to

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<v Speaker 1>spending a lot of time with them that they really love.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's a whole new canvas for Sky to put

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<v Speaker 1>its content on and to kind of, you know, sort

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<v Speaker 1>of see what free to wear at real scale looks

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<v Speaker 1>like for that company.

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<v Speaker 2>So if we wanted to get into it, why does

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<v Speaker 2>Sky want three? We know that three or why three

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<v Speaker 2>would want Sky? But why the other way around?

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<v Speaker 1>Tie by on your earlier question, Like they could have

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<v Speaker 1>got more money for it than a dollar, but they

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<v Speaker 1>wanted it to go to a good home that can

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<v Speaker 1>be like a corporate reputation thing. Sometimes it's actually they

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<v Speaker 1>just really do care about the people, and they still

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<v Speaker 1>you know, WBD still operate in this market. They've still

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<v Speaker 1>got a production house here, they've still got the HBO

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<v Speaker 1>Max brand, which is currently also sort of effectively leased

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<v Speaker 1>to Sky. So they want to be part of the

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<v Speaker 1>industry here. So just selling it to whoever is the

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<v Speaker 1>highest bo that are irrespective with their responsible owner's that's

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<v Speaker 1>a different thing. So I don't think that they'd want

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<v Speaker 1>to be in that business. In terms of why Sky

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<v Speaker 1>would want it, Sky for the longest time was a

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<v Speaker 1>sort of castle on the hill. It was wasn't really

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<v Speaker 1>part of the New Zealand media industry. It had a

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<v Speaker 1>totally different business model, which was, you know, subscriptions and advertising.

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<v Speaker 1>It just wasn't a big part of what it did.

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<v Speaker 1>It almost didn't need to be. It was so profitable

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<v Speaker 1>without it that it and part of what you were

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<v Speaker 1>paying for was a different kind of TV, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>that TV which had much less ads on it than

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<v Speaker 1>the terrestrial free to air TV that you were used to.

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<v Speaker 1>Now the game has changed. Everyone from Netflix on down

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<v Speaker 1>is doing not just subscriptions but ads as well, and

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<v Speaker 1>so for Sky, which has already got a great subscription business,

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<v Speaker 1>it's already trying really harder in ads and has been

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<v Speaker 1>making progress there when a lot of people are flat

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<v Speaker 1>to declining. This just opens up a whole lot more

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<v Speaker 1>audience and one hundred million dollars worth of advertising revenue

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<v Speaker 1>that it can plug into its subscription and content portfolio.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's kind of a no brainer for them.

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<v Speaker 2>So they come on board, Sky does, and they will

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<v Speaker 2>presumably do a whole bunch of cost cutting as they

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<v Speaker 2>normally do. You know, there'll be some back office functions

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<v Speaker 2>at free that Sky's already doing.

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<v Speaker 3>All that sort of stuff will happen.

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<v Speaker 4>You'd imagine that kind of thing. I mean, we're driving

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<v Speaker 4>in there. But they're saying that this would result in

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<v Speaker 4>a sustainable ebit uplift of at least ten million dollars

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<v Speaker 4>from financial year twenty twenty eight, So they are looking

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<v Speaker 4>quite some years out before they're really really seeing the

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<v Speaker 4>games of this. But I guess if you're thinking in

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<v Speaker 4>a bigger sense that sports rights play a big part

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<v Speaker 4>in how people make money out of broadcasting, and if

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<v Speaker 4>you've got a free to wear option that you can

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<v Speaker 4>offer cut TV ins out, that's the one for you. Later, Yeah, interesting, is.

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<v Speaker 2>It all about rugby? When it comes to Sky. I

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<v Speaker 2>mean I've had to chat with some people around the office.

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<v Speaker 2>They say, why do you still subscribe to Sky back home?

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<v Speaker 2>We call something similar like foxtail. Why would you still

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<v Speaker 2>have a subscription to foxtail when you've got all of

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<v Speaker 2>these other options And one of the main things is

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<v Speaker 2>sport Rugby International rights for Football or AFL pops up

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<v Speaker 2>on the screen sometimes does Sky Sport nine or something?

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<v Speaker 3>What happens to.

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<v Speaker 2>All of those like is that going to be a

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<v Speaker 2>real game changer for them?

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<v Speaker 1>Live sport is the last great driver of TV audiences.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, you can get hits here and there, and

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<v Speaker 1>there are lots of there are lots of properties which

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<v Speaker 1>still work. But you know, in the US, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>something like ninety of the one hundred biggest TV audiences

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<v Speaker 1>of the year are NFL games live NFL games, and

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<v Speaker 1>so absolutely for Sky. Well it's not the only thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Rugby cricket, you know, these kind of properties are a

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<v Speaker 1>huge part of what makes Sky a very sticky product

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<v Speaker 1>for the person paying the bill. There's no other way

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<v Speaker 1>to see it, and certainly not not a good way

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<v Speaker 1>to see it live. And that's where I think from

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<v Speaker 1>a looking at the competitive dynamic with TV and Z

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<v Speaker 1>where it gets really interesting because TV and z's got

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<v Speaker 1>a big newsroom, you know, three famously shut its down

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<v Speaker 1>its newsroom down last year. It's got a really good

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<v Speaker 1>library of New Zealand content and ongoing shows and personalities

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<v Speaker 1>that people are really familiar with. But what it doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have as much of as sport. And in fact that

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<v Speaker 1>what sport it has. For example, the New Zealand cricket

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<v Speaker 1>contract is actually going from TV and Z to Sky,

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<v Speaker 1>so you're going to see a really big change in

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<v Speaker 1>what is available. Two three, it's got all the Sky

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<v Speaker 1>Sports contracts. I want to want to give too much

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<v Speaker 1>away for free because then people wouldn't subscribed to Sky.

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<v Speaker 1>But certainly it can put live sport there or even

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<v Speaker 1>delayed sport, and that's a real differentiator from TV and Z.

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<v Speaker 1>But it also has, like the HBO Max contract, it

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<v Speaker 1>has a whole bunch of really premium TV. Again, probably

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<v Speaker 1>won't be a first run there, but it can play

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<v Speaker 1>it out, you know, weeks or months later, and what

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<v Speaker 1>the channel is to consumers has the potential to change

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<v Speaker 1>in quite a positive way. That will give TV and Z.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a real well resourced and differentiated competitor in a

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<v Speaker 1>way that probably has never dealt with before.

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<v Speaker 2>What's the point of media companies merging now? I can't

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<v Speaker 2>think of any really good examples off the top of

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<v Speaker 2>my head, but I'm thinking, like Disney owns I don't

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<v Speaker 2>know everything now, like Fox and stuff? Right, and or

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<v Speaker 2>is that the other one? I mean, this is asking you, ESBN,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, and then you've got the Fox side of things.

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<v Speaker 1>They own They own Fox now, they own Fox, not

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<v Speaker 1>Fox News, but Fox the twentieth century, fix century TV

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<v Speaker 1>and movie studio business.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Yah, So it's kind of like a media company.

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<v Speaker 2>I kind of think of it visually rolling along and

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<v Speaker 2>just collecting up all of these smaller companies to a

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<v Speaker 2>point where it's just this huge blob of content and

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<v Speaker 2>news and money. An is there any point being one

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<v Speaker 2>of those smaller blobs on the side anymore?

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<v Speaker 1>I think if you're a small blob, I love this.

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<v Speaker 1>While you're describing this. The hard thing is that there

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<v Speaker 1>are a lot of giant blobs around, and as big

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<v Speaker 1>as we think of some company like Disney, you know

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<v Speaker 1>there are They're right next to Netflix, which is now

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<v Speaker 1>a significantly bigger blob at least from a market capitalization standpoint.

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<v Speaker 1>But even Netflix, which is like a five hundred billion

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<v Speaker 1>US company, it's looking up at Google, which is you know,

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube is bigger again in terms of audiences, and then

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<v Speaker 1>it has all its other businesses. Meta has a huge

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<v Speaker 1>share of the sort of social video market. So the

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<v Speaker 1>market for people's tension is dominated by a few enormous

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<v Speaker 1>players and they have huge structural advantages. The likes of

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube and Metha. They don't buy content advance, that don't

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<v Speaker 1>commission it. It just sort of comes to them, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's a huge structural advantage for their YouTube actually shares

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<v Speaker 1>a lot with its creators, which Meta doesn't do. But

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<v Speaker 1>there is just a scale and a business model thing

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<v Speaker 1>there that is really hard to beat. So if you're

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<v Speaker 1>a small player bundling a lot of different types of

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<v Speaker 1>business together because some of the back office, whether it's finance,

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<v Speaker 1>hr technology, that kind of stuff, the more channels and

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<v Speaker 1>audiences that you can spread that across your head sales,

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<v Speaker 1>the more you can spread those things across, the better

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<v Speaker 1>your little blob has a chance of surviving against the

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<v Speaker 1>really big blobs that are headquartered in the Silicon Valley

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<v Speaker 1>have their non and all finance has run out of

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<v Speaker 1>Dublin and pay text precisely nowhere for the most part.

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<v Speaker 2>In terms of media companies like this merging, what does

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<v Speaker 2>it mean for creatives? I did see that Sky TV

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<v Speaker 2>CEO say that they are interested in more local content,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's obviously something that they've heard from all the

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<v Speaker 2>comments and stuff regarding Netflix taking our dime and like

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the people have been saying Netflix should say,

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<v Speaker 2>pay a tax so we can create more New Zealand content,

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<v Speaker 2>And that really stuck out to me from listening to

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<v Speaker 2>her about that.

0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.480
<v Speaker 3>Do you believe that it will lead to that?

0:13:35.000 --> 0:13:37.320
<v Speaker 1>Well, I think if you think about content in a

0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:42.960
<v Speaker 1>very broad sense, Sky probably makes more local content than

0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.960
<v Speaker 1>anyone else because of the amount of sport that producers,

0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:50.480
<v Speaker 1>and then there's all the wrap around sports shows. We

0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:53.720
<v Speaker 1>don't tend to think about that, and the production sector,

0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:55.160
<v Speaker 1>which is where a lot of that sort of the

0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:59.840
<v Speaker 1>drums beating around Netflix's commissioning locally comes from. They don't

0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:04.640
<v Speaker 1>typically think about sports, but Sky screens and producers and

0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.640
<v Speaker 1>has hard working people go all over the country to

0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:14.120
<v Speaker 1>bring you NPC and and all kinds of different sports properties.

0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.480
<v Speaker 1>They also, you know, through New Zealand on air and

0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.840
<v Speaker 1>you know, through some commercial partners at ships make some

0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:25.720
<v Speaker 1>local content as well, but not nearly so much as

0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:30.000
<v Speaker 1>you know, the likes of TVNZ for example, Three has

0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:32.600
<v Speaker 1>massively pulled back from that itself. You know, it used

0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:36.040
<v Speaker 1>to have multiple news bulletins. Now it just has the one.

0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:39.880
<v Speaker 1>It doesn't make it itself. Stuff manufactures that for them,

0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.880
<v Speaker 1>So they have basically trenched to the point where they

0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:45.600
<v Speaker 1>said the only local content will make will either be

0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.760
<v Speaker 1>funded by new zeand on air or be commercially funded.

0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:54.600
<v Speaker 1>Whether that remains the case for the combined Sky three business,

0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:57.520
<v Speaker 1>I do think that's an open question. If you look

0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:00.440
<v Speaker 1>at you know, the battle of the big blobs again,

0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:06.600
<v Speaker 1>what's a differentiator for our local blobs? It is where

0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.760
<v Speaker 1>they are, it's and they can't go anywhere else. You know,

0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.240
<v Speaker 1>the likes of Sky and TV and Z are in

0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:15.320
<v Speaker 1>and of this country. And how do you signal that,

0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:17.480
<v Speaker 1>and how do you do you differentiate yourself and the

0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:21.480
<v Speaker 1>likes of you know, Disney Plus, Amazon, Prime Netflix. It

0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:24.480
<v Speaker 1>is actually with your local content. So that's the sort

0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.240
<v Speaker 1>of the upside too, and the argument for them them

0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.200
<v Speaker 1>commissioning more local shows in future.

0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:30.960
<v Speaker 3>I guess.

0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.800
<v Speaker 2>The three brand has always been seen as a bit

0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:38.640
<v Speaker 2>of a renegade. Hey, up against the corporate and very

0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:42.360
<v Speaker 2>serious TV Z. That's where you get serious things. And

0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:45.720
<v Speaker 2>when TV three, especially i'm thinking three News, came into

0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.120
<v Speaker 2>the play, it was much more fun. It was a bit,

0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:52.640
<v Speaker 2>you know, a bit out there. My producer actually told

0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.640
<v Speaker 2>me about this iconic footage of Blenda Todd taking the

0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.000
<v Speaker 2>Grim Reaper through the office when the network was in

0:15:58.040 --> 0:15:58.720
<v Speaker 2>its infancy.

0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:04.000
<v Speaker 3>It's the same reception that's been here since the beginning.

0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:07.960
<v Speaker 1>You've come about the jobs.

0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:11.000
<v Speaker 3>The same reception that hosted host Belinda Todd along with

0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.840
<v Speaker 3>the Grim Reaper when TV three went into receivership.

0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:15.520
<v Speaker 1>I'm too groad, Angy Morgan.

0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:18.080
<v Speaker 2>You can have me for one thousand dollars a week,

0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.600
<v Speaker 2>plus all the land that was taken from my tribe.

0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:24.640
<v Speaker 3>The receiver th on was just a month after Nightline launched.

0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:28.480
<v Speaker 2>We're just running with scissors with a hair on fire,

0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.840
<v Speaker 2>and no one expected anything of it, so.

0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:32.720
<v Speaker 3>We did what we liked.

0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:37.480
<v Speaker 2>And there have been so many owners over the years,

0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.160
<v Speaker 2>so much change at three. Do you think this deal

0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:45.800
<v Speaker 2>is going to bring some long term stability, not only

0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.760
<v Speaker 2>two three, but perhaps the wide media landscape.

0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.240
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean, I think that that renegade spirit of

0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:58.600
<v Speaker 1>three was very deliberately cultivated. It was a classic challenger

0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:03.320
<v Speaker 1>brand and and it hired personalities who had a particular

0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:07.159
<v Speaker 1>sense of fun and playfulness, and it was just so

0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:11.400
<v Speaker 1>well executed against that over its sort of first twenty

0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:14.080
<v Speaker 1>years or so, to the point where if you look

0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:16.879
<v Speaker 1>at some of the biggest names on TV and Z,

0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:19.480
<v Speaker 1>you know, the likes of Hillary Barry and John Campbell,

0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:23.640
<v Speaker 1>they were three lifers before they eventually made their way

0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:26.960
<v Speaker 1>across there. Not that they wanted to be a development

0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:30.520
<v Speaker 1>house for talent, but that's just sort of it shows

0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:35.200
<v Speaker 1>just how admired they were at that capacity. In terms

0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:41.080
<v Speaker 1>of how three has lived its whole life. It has

0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:45.040
<v Speaker 1>had huge amounts of debt, it's had reluctant owners, it's

0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 1>had bankruptcies, and it's just kept on trucking. You know,

0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:54.000
<v Speaker 1>that's their understanding of the world is that way up there,

0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.960
<v Speaker 1>something weird's always happening, and you just got to do

0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:01.679
<v Speaker 1>your job, and so, you know, there was My understanding

0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:06.160
<v Speaker 1>is that TVNZ went and camped outside Flower Street, which

0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:08.000
<v Speaker 1>is only going to be their home for a matter

0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:12.040
<v Speaker 1>of a few days I think for three to sort

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.919
<v Speaker 1>of get their reaction to this, and I'm like, you

0:18:14.920 --> 0:18:18.440
<v Speaker 1>should know that this is the most normal thing that's

0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.800
<v Speaker 1>happened to three from an ownership perspective, in probably its

0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:26.840
<v Speaker 1>entire existence, and so it will have I would have thought,

0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:33.960
<v Speaker 1>no impact on them, kind of emotionally, but equally if

0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.240
<v Speaker 1>you sort of step back a bit, it's obviously a

0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:38.120
<v Speaker 1>great day for them. You know, I think when you're

0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.479
<v Speaker 1>owned by a giant multinational, and especially when you're off

0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.000
<v Speaker 1>to the side of what their core business is, you know,

0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.360
<v Speaker 1>you should never really count your chickens. But when you're

0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:55.080
<v Speaker 1>owned by a publicly listed New Zealand media company, you're

0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:58.160
<v Speaker 1>part of the furniture that you're a really important asset

0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:03.680
<v Speaker 1>to them. And I think that for three Star, you know,

0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:05.760
<v Speaker 1>those who are left, you know, a lot of them

0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:10.400
<v Speaker 1>have gone by the wayside in recent years, but those

0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.040
<v Speaker 1>who are still there, who especially those have got a

0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:18.280
<v Speaker 1>kind of connection back to previous eras this this should

0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:21.040
<v Speaker 1>be an amazing moment for them because they're finally at

0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.159
<v Speaker 1>a place where they're sort of seen and valued and

0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:26.880
<v Speaker 1>have reason to believe that they can grow and prosper

0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:30.200
<v Speaker 1>and evolve. In a way that has been really hard

0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:32.159
<v Speaker 1>to imagine. For a lot of the last sort of

0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:34.160
<v Speaker 1>probably ten to fifteen years.

0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:37.159
<v Speaker 2>In the past, TV and Z has poached some of

0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:42.000
<v Speaker 2>three's biggest hits. I've been told Home and Away is

0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:45.040
<v Speaker 2>probably the biggest, that was the lead in show for

0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:47.240
<v Speaker 2>the six PM news for a long time there. And

0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:49.560
<v Speaker 2>you've also seen they announce the other week that Graham

0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:51.840
<v Speaker 2>Norton is moving over to TV and Z. They even

0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:55.840
<v Speaker 2>took Broken Wood Mysteries from Sky did TV and zed.

0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:59.560
<v Speaker 2>So is this stronger media company perhaps going to put

0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:01.240
<v Speaker 2>up a lo a bit more of a fight.

0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:05.320
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's interesting some of those shows that you listed

0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:11.359
<v Speaker 1>weren't necessarily poached from three so much as Three either

0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:17.199
<v Speaker 1>deliberately or unintentionally botched the negotiation on them, and they

0:20:17.240 --> 0:20:20.080
<v Speaker 1>were real losses. You know, some of those, particularly Home

0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:23.920
<v Speaker 1>and Away were real tent poles of how they set

0:20:24.000 --> 0:20:27.720
<v Speaker 1>up their evening. And you know, also give TVNZ credit,

0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:31.639
<v Speaker 1>they knew how to behave in a competitive environment like

0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:35.600
<v Speaker 1>a really strong competitor. They still will be in this situation.

0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.760
<v Speaker 1>I think it's less about Three defending what it has

0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:42.320
<v Speaker 1>and it still has a lot, you know, David Lomas

0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:46.160
<v Speaker 1>is still a very beloved property for them. Meretithist Side

0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:54.080
<v Speaker 1>Australia regularly tops the ratings. Basically, comedy and reality TV

0:20:54.600 --> 0:21:01.600
<v Speaker 1>as locally made genres were largely driven stratgically buy three,

0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:06.440
<v Speaker 1>and while particularly the comedy side and some of the

0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:08.720
<v Speaker 1>reality side TVNS has picked up on it, they were

0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:14.320
<v Speaker 1>definitely fast followers rather than originators of that. And so yeah,

0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:17.960
<v Speaker 1>this absolutely a more robust company to sort of defend

0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:20.520
<v Speaker 1>what three has. But I think what's more instructive and

0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:23.880
<v Speaker 1>interesting about the dealer is if you just look at

0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:29.520
<v Speaker 1>the vast library that Sky has, truly it's one of

0:21:29.560 --> 0:21:31.680
<v Speaker 1>the best in the world. It might be the best

0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:33.320
<v Speaker 1>in the world just because we're a sort of small

0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:39.320
<v Speaker 1>market with less BATV operators across sports, across entertainment. What

0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:42.679
<v Speaker 1>it can do in terms of putting some of that,

0:21:42.960 --> 0:21:45.600
<v Speaker 1>a sampling of that on three and then using that

0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:48.240
<v Speaker 1>as the top of the funnel to say, if you

0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:50.280
<v Speaker 1>like that, there's a whole lot more where that came

0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:53.480
<v Speaker 1>from across s guy's properties, and then advertising that there

0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:59.320
<v Speaker 1>Once that it's all properly put together, strategically understood and executed,

0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:03.040
<v Speaker 1>that should be a pretty formidable machine for them sitting

0:22:03.080 --> 0:22:06.000
<v Speaker 1>aside the whole advertising piece of it, which is the

0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:07.960
<v Speaker 1>obvious stated justification too.

0:22:08.119 --> 0:22:09.359
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for joining us, Duncan.

0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:12.160
<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much for having me. I could talk

0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:13.000
<v Speaker 1>about this all day.

0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:19.639
<v Speaker 2>That's it for this episode of the Front Page. You

0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:23.600
<v Speaker 2>can read more about today's stories and extensive news coverage

0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:27.679
<v Speaker 2>at enziherld dot co dot mz. The Front Page is

0:22:27.720 --> 0:22:31.480
<v Speaker 2>produced by Ethan Sills and Richard Martin, who is also

0:22:31.680 --> 0:22:36.119
<v Speaker 2>our editor. I'm Chelsea Daniels. Subscribe to the Front Page

0:22:36.119 --> 0:22:39.840
<v Speaker 2>on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts, and tune

0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:43.240
<v Speaker 2>in tomorrow for another look behind the headlines.