 Lightbox's Logo | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electronic commerce |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Defunct | 6 July 2020 |
| Fate | Merged intoNeon |
| Headquarters | Auckland, |
Area served | New Zealand |
| Products | Internet streaming |
| Parent | Sky Network Television Limited |
| Website | lightbox.co.nz |
Lightbox was a New Zealand subscription video on demand (SVOD) service offering a selection of television shows over a range of devices. The service was owned by national telecommunications providerSpark New Zealand but was purchased by satellite companySky Television in December 2019. On 7 July 2020, Sky merged Lightbox into its own streaming serviceNeon using the existing streaming platform of Lightbox.[1] Hema Patel was the general manager director of Lightbox.[2]
In June 2014, Spark announced Lightbox (then calledShowmeTV), which allowed New Zealanders to stream TV shows, includingMad Men,Better Call Saul andVikings.[3][4] It was launched in August 2014.[5][6]
In January 2015, Lightbox partnered with Coliseum Sports Media to deliver a subscription-based sports streaming service calledLightbox Sport. Lightbox Sport included golf,English Premier League football andFrench Top 14 rugby.[7]
By March 2015, Lightbox faced competition from SVOD servicesQuickflix,Netflix andNeon.[8]
In October 2019, a Horizon Research survey of more than 1,000 New Zealanders found that 18% of those surveyed subscribed to Lightbox. By contrast, 59% subscribed toTVNZ OnDemand, 56% to Netflix, 29% toSky, 28% toThreeNow and 7% to Neon.[9]
In mid-December 2019, it was announced that Spark would be selling the Lightbox streaming service to the satellite television companySky Television. Sky planned to merge Lightbox into its own online streaming service Neon on 7 July 2020. Spark also partnered with Sky to make the service available to Spark customers through the telecommunication company's entertainment offers during the first half of 2020. As part of the agreement, Sky met the operational costs of merging the two streaming services.[1][10][11][12]
In mid-June 2020, Sky announced that Lightbox would be merged into Neon on 7 July 2020. The merged service retained the Neon brand but continued using Lightbox's interface and features and includes content drawn from both Neon and the old Lightbox. Existing Spark customers can receive a NZ$9.95 discount.[1][13][14]
On 7 July, Sky formally merged Neon and Lightbox, with the former Lightbox app being revamped as Neon. The revamped Neon platform incorporates content and several features from Lightbox including the ability to download films and shows onto devices, rent movies, and create user profiles.[15]
Lightbox was available via their website onWindows 7,Windows 8 andOS X computers, and on a number of other devices includingiOS,Android (version 4.2 and above),Apple TV usingAirPlay,Android TV,Chromecast selectedSamsungSmart TVs, andPlayStation 3 andPlayStation 4 consoles.[16]
Lightbox's content included the New Zealand animated comedy seriesBro'Town and theHulu webseriesThe Handmaid's Tale.[17][18]
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