Lightbox Tops 200K Subs and Signs WB Deal

Lightbox has picked up a new Hugh Laurie drama from 21st Century Fox TV and signed a programming deal with Warner Bros.

The Spark streaming service that’s facing unprecedented competition from giants Netflix and Amazon today announced it had notched up 200,000 customers since launching in August 2014 “and is well on its way towards its next big milestone of 250,000”.

“It’s satisfying to see how quickly the number of New Zealanders enjoying Lightbox has been growing of late,” CEO of Spark Home, Mobile and Business, Jason Paris says.

“It’s a testament to the high quality of content, and the way in which New Zealanders are increasingly choosing what they want to watch when they want to watch it.

“And we’re backing this success, by investing in new deals with international studios to maintain the momentum we are generating.”

These include Chance, which stars Hugh Laurie, as a forensic neuropsychiatrist who’s pulled into his patient’s dangerous life of police corruption and abuse, and a new content deal with Warner Bros for all seasons of the The West Wing, Veronica Mars and Pushing Daisies, as well as Blindspot (S1) and DC Legends of Tomorrow.

Paris says Lightbox’s strategy of acquiring top-quality content that is often first to run in NZ and ‘express’ from the US means Kiwis can watch a show within 24 hours of it first being broadcast.

And because many households share a single Lightbox subscription, up to half-a-million New Zealanders all across the country are watching Lightbox, he argues.

Lightbox acting general manager Hema Patel says Lightbox will continue its focus on investing in new shows in 2017.

“Kiwis have broken the habits of a lifetime and rapidly embraced the new way media is being delivered. We like to engage with it on our own terms. We love being able to watch episodes back to back, any time and place we like.

“Now the remote is firmly in the hands of the viewer and this new-found entertainment freedom supported by great content underpins future growth and an enhanced subscriber base.”

Returning in the new year will be exclusive seasons of Suits (late January), Better Call Saul (April), Outlander (April), The Path (late January) and the final season of Black Sails (late January).

Available this month are the latest seasons of Vikings, Mozart in the Jungle, No Activity and The Mindy Project.

Lightbox costs $12.99 a month after a 30 day free trial and is included on selected Spark mobile and broadband plans (www.lightbox.co.nz).