Sky’s Neon Dims While Rivals Surge
August 22, 2025 
3 Comments
The latest subscription TV research shows Sky’s Neon is under increasing pressure from global rivals, with Netflix the only streaming service to reach more than half the population while Disney+ and Prime Video are surging.
This was reflected in Sky’s annual report, which showed a 2% dip in Neon revenue in 2024/25, and a new market analysis by Roy Morgan that reveals:
Traditional Pay TV service Sky – which includes Sky TV, the Neon streaming service, and Sky Sport Now streaming service – retains a wide viewership of 1,284,000 – enough for second place overall, but this is virtually unchanged from four years ago, and down by 8,000 (-0.6%) in a growing market overall.
Here’s the media release:
Disney+ and Amazon Prime in New Zealand show powerful growth in viewership of Subscription TV services since pandemic
New data from Roy Morgan shows over 3 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (3,094,000 people) now watch Subscription TV in an average four weeks – over two-thirds (70.4%) of all New Zealanders.
This viewership represents an impressive increase of 214,000 (+7.4%) from four years ago during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when many New Zealanders turned to streaming services while enduring extended periods of lockdown in 2020-2021.
Netflix remains the clear market leader and most popular service and now watched by 2,292,000 people in an average four weeks, an increase of 97,000 (+4.4%) on four years ago. Netflix remains the only Subscription TV service to reach over half the population (52.2% of New Zealanders).
Although Netflix retains top spot, the biggest improvers are newer streaming services from Disney+ (launched November 2019) and Amazon Prime Video (launched December 2016).
Now 1,058,000 New Zealanders, up 342,000 (+47.6%) on four years ago, watch Disney+ in an average four weeks, and 835,000, up 522,000 (+166.3%) watch Amazon Prime Video.
Traditional Pay TV service Sky – which includes Sky TV, the Neon streaming service, and Sky Sport Now streaming service – retains a wide viewership of 1,284,000 – enough for second place overall, but this is virtually unchanged from four years ago, and down by 8,000 (-0.6%) in a growing market overall.
There are 701,000 New Zealanders now viewing one of multiple other services including Apple TV+, YouTube Premium, Google Play, Hayu, Tubi, Acorn TV, Crunchyroll, DAZN and NBA League Pass.
Viewership of these services increased by an impressive 411,000 (+141.5%) over the last four years.
This new pay television data has been obtained from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over six thousand New Zealanders each year.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video have seen the most impressive growth in the Subscription TV market since the pandemic but still trail behind market leader Netflix and traditional Pay TV company Sky.
“The latest data from Roy Morgan shows that well over 3 million New Zealanders (70.4% of the population) now watch Subscription TV in an average four weeks.
“This represents an increase of 213,000 (+7.4%) viewers from four years ago during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The two standout services for growth over the last four years are Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video which are both up significantly since 2020-21.
“Disney+ is now attracting an audience of 1,058,000 in an average four weeks, up 342,000 (+47.6%) since 2020-21, and Amazon Prime Video has a viewership of 835,000, an increase of 522,000 (+166.3%).
“However, despite the growth for Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, Netflix is the clear market leader in New Zealand with easily the largest audience – with over 50% of the population.
“Netflix is viewed by well over 2.2 million New Zealanders, up 97,000 (+4.4%) on four years ago.
“The long-running broadcaster Sky, which was founded nearly 40 years ago in 1987, is also in a strong position.
“Sky includes under its banner Sky TV, the Sky Sport Now sports streaming service and the Neon streaming service.
“Across these different services Sky now attracts an audience of 1,284,000 viewers – around 30% of New Zealanders.”
I wonder if this means more of ThreeNow’s first run and exclusive content ends up behind Neon’s paywall to bolster its library and arrest its market share problems. I do have concerns for ThreeNow with its new owners Sky at the helm. — Leo.
The Neilsen data which includes Youtube, TVNZ and ThreeNow with year on year data across each year is much more valuable analysis. Since 2020/21 most players have moved to introduce the Basic+ads tier which introduced a step change shortly after introduction but has had differing longevity. Personally I’d like to see if Disney+ plus ESPN has moved the Disney dial compared to this time last year. — Mike.
I would love to access this Nielsen data but it doesn’t seem to be publicly available. Nielsen’s always closely guarded its ratings info in NZ. Its website overflows with US and Mexican data but not NZ. TVNZ Sales used to provide great TVNZ+ stats but no more. Can you point me in the right direction, Mike?