Telecom may have outbid Sky for the first run rights to the TV series Vikings as it tries to build exclusive content for its new online ShowmeTV service.
Sky TV chief executive John Fellet said most rights for subscription video on demand services were non-exclusive so Telecom would probably try to acquire first-run rights, although these were rare.
“A good example is one called Vikings I tried to buy for Prime. I offered a price and they said ‘we have a higher offer’. I said ‘well take it’.”
Fellet said he understood neither TVNZ nor MediaWorks had bought it, so “the logical [buyer] would be Telecom, but I’m guessing.”
Rights for shows such as Vikings could cost $30,000 an episode, he said.
Series one of Vikings has nine episodes, giving a potential cost of $270,000.
Most other first-run rights were already held by Sky, TVNZ or MediaWorks, said Fellet.
Telecom declined to comment specifically on its content plans, but CEO Simon Moutter said the company had started to engage with the major content studios around the world about two or three months ago.
“Having now put it out there, it means we can now talk openly and we would be delighted to talk to all sorts of partners and content owners be they local or global to explore what the possibilities are. We are open to dialogue with anyone.”
Telecom’s announcement on Friday of a new internet-delivered TV and movie service called ShowmeTV has led to speculation it could herald a new era of competition for TV and movie services.
One industry player, who asked not to be named, said the development “could only be good news for owners of sports content, particularly the New Zealand Rugby Union.
“Look back at 2012 in the UK when BT came into the market,” he said.
In July that year Britain’s dominant telco BT made a big play for live football broadcast rights, paying
