Sky Reveals Price of New Box

Sky will limit the roll out of its new recording-streaming hybrid box to existing customers for a one-off cost of $200.

Some would argue Sky should be giving away the box to build subscribers given the inroads streamers have made on its viewership in the last few years.

But it seems good value for a device that combines built-in third-party apps and 4K capability with a 1Tb hard drive, My Sky and the ability to record five shows while watching another live.

And whatever you think of Sky being so late to the market with its next-generation box, in my experience its MySky predecessor was more robust and reliable than other PVRs on the market (save, perhaps, for the late, lamented TiVo).

In an email to subscribers, chief executive Sophie Moloney wrote:

As stocks will be limited in the early stages of our rollout before Christmas, we’re prioritising offers to our existing customers first before making the new Sky Box available to new customers.

The one-off price to enjoy Sky’s great content via our new Sky Box is $200. And to say thank you to our most loyal customers we’re putting together a range of special offers. We’ll be in touch directly regarding any offers available to you.

If you’d like to take a look at the new Sky Box please visit newskybox.co.nz where you can register your interest to be first to hear more.

Moloney also confirms news is pending about a Sky Pod, first reported here, for Vodafone customers about to lose their VodafoneTV service.

VodafoneTV is an IP-only service meaning its customers access Sky through their internet service rather than via satellite.

To meet their needs, we’ve developed Sky Pod, a portable little device that enables access to Sky TV and streaming apps without the need for a satellite dish, but it doesn’t include any recording capability.

While the first phase of the Sky Pod rollout is for VodafoneTV customers, given their immediate need for an alternative solution, we’ll be looking to offer it more widely in the future and will keep you informed.

Stuff reports the Sky Pod will cost $100.