Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79288 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

#306740 17-Aug-2023 11:39
Send private message

Press release:

 

 

Welcome to Sky Open – Sky’s new free-to-air channel that offers New Zealanders some of the best sport, local and international entertainment from the world of Sky.

 

Launching at 6am on Wednesday 23 August, Sky Open will replace Prime, showcasing a wide range of exciting content, including locally-produced shows from Sky Originals NZ, news, exclusive Sky Sport coverage, documentaries, and entertainment – all free-to-air. We look forward to sharing the cool new logo and colour scheme with our customers too.

 

Lauren Quaintance, Sky’s Chief Media and Data Officer, says: “Our new free-to-air channel, Sky Open, enables Sky to create a bold and distinctive channel identity, connected to our family of Sky platforms and channels. This new look encourages existing and new audiences to open themselves up to a world of sport and entertainment, both local and international. Sky Open is a key part of Sky’s strategy to deliver superb content to New Zealanders in ways that work for them.”

 

Sky Open replaces Prime and can be accessed on Sky channel 4 and Freeview channel 15, with Prime+1 changing to Sky Open+1 on Sky channel 514.

 

Viewers who prefer to stream or watch on demand will be able to watch Sky Open live and catch up with programmes on demand via Sky Go, for free.

 

The launch of Sky Open will also see a change for our longstanding news show Prime News. From Wednesday 23 August, viewers can keep up to date with all the latest stories from Eric Young on News First, at 5.30pm.

 

This month also sees two locally produced Sky Originals NZ productions premiere: season two of the Matthew Ridge-hosted architecture series Designing Dreams and an exciting new travel docuseries Lost In France, providing a perfect lead-in to this year’s much-anticipated Rugby World Cup.

 

Sky Open will be the home of Sky’s free-to-air coverage for the Rugby World Cup 2023™ in September and October, broadcasting 12 games from the tournament as well as regular highlight shows. The free matches include the Opening Match (All Blacks v France) live and the Final live. The full list of live and delayed matches is noted below. We look forward to sharing this exciting tournament with Kiwis right across Aotearoa New Zealand.

 

Later in the year, Sky Open viewers can also look forward to renowned investigative journalist Bryan Bruce’s latest documentary The Food Crisis and the second season of Pax Assadi’s award-winning comedy Raised By Refugees. Taking to the high seas again will be the second season of HBO’s New Zealand-filmed pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death.

 

Notes to Editor:

 

  • Sky Open is the new name of Sky’s free-to-air channel (replacing Prime)
  • Sky Open launches on Wednesday 23 August, 6am
  • Sky Open is available on Sky channel 4, Freeview channel 15 and is accessible for free for non-Sky customers via Sky Go on web or via the app
  • Prime News will change its name to News First. This change will also take effect on Wednesday 23 August
  • Designing Dreams will air Mondays from 14 August at 8.30pm. Made with the support of NZ On Air
  • Lost In France will air Wednesdays from 30 August at 8.30pm. Made with the support of Te Māngai Pāho
  • The Rugby World Cup 2023 begins on Saturday 9 September. Sky Open will air 12 games free-to-air (a combination of live and delayed coverage), with Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now airing all games live. 





Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSync 


Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2 | 3
quickymart
13957 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #3117107 17-Aug-2023 11:48
Send private message

Stuff article here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/300952170/after-25-years-as-prime-the-channel-will-get-a-rebrand-as-sky-open

 

I honestly don't know many people who watch Prime as it is now - I guess time will tell if this change makes any difference.




Behodar
10508 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

#3117108 17-Aug-2023 11:49
Send private message

But is it going to be at a decent resolution/bitrate?


openmedia
3331 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #3117114 17-Aug-2023 12:10
Send private message

We used to watch Prime a lot, particularly music documentaries like Prime Rocks, plus local shows like Brokenwood before it moved to TVNZ. I'm pleased to see they'll be picking up the second season of Raised by Refugees.

 

These days thanks to the Kodi plugin for Sky Go we usually catch shows that would otherwise be on Prime via on-demand. The only recent exception has been sports like last nights FIFA World Cup match.





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.




Journeyman
1186 posts

Uber Geek


  #3117130 17-Aug-2023 12:43
Send private message

So it's really just a rebrand?


JPNZ
1547 posts

Uber Geek


  #3117153 17-Aug-2023 13:16
Send private message

Behodar:

 

But is it going to be at a decent resolution/bitrate?

 

 

Its FTA TV so....?





Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+


freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79288 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #3117180 17-Aug-2023 14:10
Send private message

JPNZ:

 

Behodar:

 

But is it going to be at a decent resolution/bitrate?

 

 

Its FTA TV so....?

 

 

I think you missed the sarcasm.





Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSync 


JPNZ
1547 posts

Uber Geek


  #3117188 17-Aug-2023 14:24
Send private message

Journeyman:

 

So it's really just a rebrand?

 

 

Yes





Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+


 
 
 

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).
Handsomedan
7293 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Subscriber

  #3117212 17-Aug-2023 15:15
Send private message

I dare say this would be rebranding for the sake of avoiding confusion with Amazon Prime TV. 





Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

 

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale 

 

 

 

*Gladly accepting donations...


Linux
11428 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

#3117218 17-Aug-2023 15:28
Send private message

Behodar:

 

But is it going to be at a decent resolution/bitrate?

 

 

If it is anything like the new Sky Box lord help us!!


Fog

Fog
372 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #3117224 17-Aug-2023 16:06
Send private message

Linux:

 

Behodar:

 

But is it going to be at a decent resolution/bitrate?

 

 

If it is anything like the new Sky Box lord help us!!

 

Now be nice!


MikeB4
18435 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #3117230 17-Aug-2023 16:22
Send private message

Linux:

 

 

 

If it is anything like the new Sky Box lord help us!!

 

 

Is she going to sing a song to aid it 😀


JimmyH
2886 posts

Uber Geek


  #3117290 17-Aug-2023 19:12
Send private message

Sky's press releases (and the email they sent me) are chock-a-block with vapid marketing speak, but don't really say much of substance.

 

If it's nothing but a name change with the same old content, with the same level of advertising saturation, and the same crummy resolution then I have to ask what the purpose of the exercise is. A new name and a new logo aren't likely to have any impact on whether anyone watches it. They could have saved the marketing spend.

 

Or are they actually making any change at all, of substance - and if so what/how? Aside from changing some programme names and some minor rescheduling of existing shows, the releases don't really say anything concrete at all.


rugrat
3107 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #3117292 17-Aug-2023 19:30
Send private message

The name change will mean people will see the word "Sky" more often.  Every time someone looks at new channel, see its logo they will have the word "Sky" reinforced on their minds. 
 
Seems they are using the free to air channel to promote/advertise Sky even more.


quickymart
13957 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #3117300 17-Aug-2023 19:50
Send private message

I dunno, seems like a weird name to me. I did see the headline on Stuff say it was "Sky One" (which I recall used to be an okay channel) until I went into it and saw it was a typo.

 

Sky 1 - or whatever it's called these days - now if that was free-to-air, that one I would probably be inclined to watch.


thermonuclear
604 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #3118118 20-Aug-2023 11:05
Send private message

We watch Prime News in this house because of the time it screens, and because it's a half hour bulletin, which is all we really need or want.  Other than that, the occasional sporting event might get a viewing but that's it.  

 

We're not Sky subscribers.


 1 | 2 | 3
Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.