JimmyH: They need a delivery platform and some content.

For a delivery platform, they could do worse than to resurrect TiVo (which they were involved with before), setting up local support and giving them an attractive Freeview PVR (which people will buy) and that they can also push content to. Bundle the home networking package for free, zero rate the data for subscribers, and sell it for near cost in partnership with a major retailer to try and quickly build an install base. Given Hybrid's straits, they could probably pick up the NZ operation/rights very cheaply.

They also need to quickly get an app onto major brands of media players and TVs - as well as Android and iOS.

Then they need content quickly. Very quickly. Even if they lose money for the first couple of years while they build their base. If I was in their shoes I would look at:

1. Buying Quickflix cheaply, to get a quickish infusion of older content. Already, streamable to TiVo as per above, so they could hit the ground running.

2. Trouble is Quickflix's content range is, to say the least, slender. They also need to use their comparatively deep pockets to bulk out this offering very quickly. Including aggressively bidding for a few Game of Thrones type series that people know about and want to see - as a loss leader. Just take the hit to build brand and subscribers.

3. Grab content that Sky doesn't have rights to, isn't bidding for, and for which their is evidently a demand. I remember reading some years ago that up to half the income of some DVD stores was from the the more, emmm, "adult" fare. The should hoover up the rights to a lot of that material as cheaply as they can (Sky and the networks won't be competing for it) and launch an R18 Adult Channel. Distasteful? Yes. But it will give them a lot of evidently in demand content cheaply, and tons of free publicity as some of the more shrill lobby groups wind themselves up into a lather.

4. Look at targeting some of the sports content Sky doesn't have and for which their may be a demand. Club rugby? Hell, and university and top-level secondary school sport might work. Test it with an audience.

But whatever they do they need to be prepared to bleed financially for a couple of years to get it off the ground, and they have to move quickly.

My 2 cents.....

Behodar: Telecom has dropped the ShowmeTV name. A new name has not been announced.

NonprayingMantis:

Behodar: Telecom has dropped the ShowmeTV name. A new name has not been announced.

I imagine the show.me and showTV guys are pretty disappointed now.   I expect they thought it was payday when Telecom announced ShowmeTV.
What they should have done is waited until it was launched and Telecom had already invested too much into the brand to back off, then they would have been forced to cough up $$$$ to get the rights for the name from them.

As it is, only a name was announced and no investment had been made, so telecom can just change without losing anything.
(and, given the feedback on the name, seems likely this is quite good now)

sultanoswing: Watch Telecom/Spark go and lobby the Govt. to change the legislation so that VPNs, DNS spoofers and other means of access to US content is made illegal.

You read it here first.

sultanoswing: Watch Telecom/Spark go and lobby the Govt. to change the legislation so that VPNs, DNS spoofers and other means of access to US content is made illegal.

You read it here first.

silverlake:

sultanoswing: Watch Telecom/Spark go and lobby the Govt. to change the legislation so that VPNs, DNS spoofers and other means of access to US content is made illegal.

You read it here first.

Kim Dotcom will have more influence if he gets a few MP's into parliament!

sultanoswing: Watch Telecom/Spark go and lobby the Govt. to change the legislation so that VPNs, DNS spoofers and other means of access to US content is made illegal.

You read it here first.

robjg63:

sultanoswing: Watch Telecom/Spark go and lobby the Govt. to change the legislation so that VPNs, DNS spoofers and other means of access to US content is made illegal.

You read it here first.

Wow - pick on Telecom/Spark!
Dont you think that Sky/TVNZ/TV3 has more to lose from the above technology? 
Its one of the reasons they are showing some programs very soon after US broadcast.

robjg63:

sultanoswing: Watch Telecom/Spark go and lobby the Govt. to change the legislation so that VPNs, DNS spoofers and other means of access to US content is made illegal.

You read it here first.

Wow - pick on Telecom/Spark!
Dont you think that Sky/TVNZ/TV3 has more to lose from the above technology? 
Its one of the reasons they are showing some programs very soon after US broadcast.