Sky NZ and Luminous Beast’s original drama series INSiDE won an International Emmy Award for Best Short-Form Series.

Co-producer Liz DiFiore virtually accepted the award on behalf of the Luminous Beast team who celebrated at home, thanking Sky NZ Commissioners Annie Murray and Dana Youngman. The award was presented by Method Man at the Black-Tie Gala event out of New York City.

Sophie Moloney, Sky CEO says, “It is simply brilliant for such a unique Kiwi-made production to receive international acknowledgement with an Emmy. We couldn’t be prouder of Sky’s commissioning team Dana Youngman and Annie Murray and most importantly the New Zealand creatives led by Luminous Beast who conceived and produced INSiDE to such acclaim. It’s important to tell stories about us, and rest assured we’re working hard to do more of the same. We wish everyone involved congratulations for their outstanding mahi. Ka rawe e te whānau.”

The Luminous Beast team said “We were elated to be nominated, and over the moon to win this award for our very first production. We would love to have dressed up and attended the event in New York but instead we celebrated socially-distanced in semi-lockdown in a backyard in Auckland, which seems absolutely appropriate for our show. We’re so grateful to Sky NZ for this opportunity.”

INSiDE was the only Kiwi nominee – in fact, the only Australasian nominee – across all categories.

INSiDE is a cautionary tale about the human need for real connection.

Made with the support of NZ On Air, INSiDE was created during New Zealand’s alert level four lockdown in 2020 and filmed during alert levels three and two under strict Covid protocols. Working with a small budget and a tight timeframe, series creators and Luminous Beast founders Peter Salmon, Shoshana McCallum, and Dan Musgrove, and series producer Liz DiFiore, had to adapt to making television during a pandemic.

The series, the debut production for Luminous Beast, is made up of eight 15- minute episodes and premiered on Sky’s free-to-air channel Prime in September 2020.

Available to stream now on Sky Go (free to view, no Sky subscription required) and Neon. Also playing back-to-back on SoHo.

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MTV changed the game when it comes to music television – so, it’s a no brainer to turn to them when we need some more music in our lives.

Following a rockin’ Sky Arts Rocks Pop-Up in April 2020, Sky is stoked to announce another injection of live hit music from the 15th to the 17th of May 2020 with the MTV LIVE Pop-Up channel, available to all customers with at least Sky Starter.

The MTV LIVE Pop-up will air a selection of live concert and acoustic performances from the last decade of MTV’s back catalogue. A selection of MTV World Stage shows offers you a chance to see the biggest artists around the globe live in concert without leaving the comfort of your couch. Gigs include Kings of Leon in The Netherlands, Green Day in Spain, Nick Jonas at Hyperplay in Singapore, Twenty One Pilots and The 1975 at Lollapalooza, and Post Malone, Migos, and J Cole at Wireless Festival.

Plus, there’s nothing quite like an acoustic performance, and MTV Unplugged has been impressing us with the raw talent of some of our favourite popstars for decades. On the MTV LIVE Pop-Up, we’ll spotlight a spectacular Unplugged show from Shawn Mendes, and had a special dig through the archives for Alicia Keys’ 2005 set and a memorable performance from the one and only Elton John from 1990.

In celebration of NZ Music Month, the MTV LIVE Pop-Up will feature an MTV Stripped performance by Kiwi lads Drax Project and an MTV Meets with Benee, as well as content spotlighting Top 5 Kiwi Legends and Top 5 Hottest Kiwis.

And, in true Anzac spirit, we’ve also got a decent dose of Aussie talent with MTV Unplugged Melbourne sessions with the likes of Gang Of Youths, Courtney Barnett, and The Rubens, plus MTV Stripped sessions with Thelma Plum, Adrian Eagle, and Boy & Bear.

MTV LIVE Pop-Up

Friday 15 May to Sunday 17 May 2020

Sky channel 117

(Open to all Sky direct customers with at least the Sky Starter package and a Sky box at home)

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Live music – there’s nothing quite like it.

Whether it’s the energy of the crowd, the sweat dripping from the performer’s forehead, the personal quips from the enigmatic front-person, or the epic encore that you wish will never end, a live musical performance is a memorable event and different every time.

While we can’t head out to our local gig, Sky Arts – Sky’s premium culture channel filled with all the music, fine art, dance, architecture, and arty goodness you could wish for – is gifting viewers a weekend-long pop-up channel dedicated to live musical performances so that you can rock on from the comfort of your own bubble. Even better, if you’ve got a Sky box in your home and you’ve got at least the Sky Starter package, the Sky Arts Rocks Pop-Up will be opened up to you too – no Sky Arts subscription required.

Coldplay

The Sky Arts Rocks Pop-Up will include a variety of musical performances from indie to classic rock, plus a couple of highlights from internationally recognised festivals.

Sit down or dance along to some of the best live performances of the decade. Check out Irish musician Hozier’s 2019 concert from the New York leg of his Wasteland Baby! tour, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ 2017 concert (after a three-year hiatus), recorded at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena, and The Smashing Pumpkins’ 2012 performance of their Oceania album in full.

Joe Cocker

If you want that Friday night festy feel, get your glitter and gumboots on and take a trip back to Glastonbury Festival 2019 where you’ll experience performances from Stormzy, The Killers, The Cure, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, George Ezra, Vampire Weekend, Sheryl Crow, and many more. On Saturday night, you’ll also get highlights from the 50^th anniversary of the Isle of Wight Festival in 2018 headlined by Depeche Mode, The Killers, Kasabian, and Liam Gallagher with additional performances from The Script, Blossoms, James Bay, and Van Morrison.

Lovers of classic rock won’t want to miss performances from legendary artist Joe Cocker and rock gods The Who. Joe Cocker’s live performance was recorded at the Waldbuhne in Berlin in 1997, and includes tracks from his sixteenth studio album, Across From Midnight, as well as his iconic classics. We wrap up Sunday night in style with British rockers The Who – filmed in 1977, this rare concert film captures the full line-up of Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle, and what would be their final public show with the explosive Keith Moon on drums.

Streaming details:

Sky Arts Rocks Pop-Up

Friday 17 April to Monday 20 April 2020

Sky channel 220 (Open to all Sky direct customers with at least the Sky Starter package and a Sky box at home)

The set list includes:

Glastonbury Festival 2019 – Friday, 7.10pm

Isle of Wight Festival 2018 – Saturday, 6.10pm

Hozier – Saturday, 7.40pm

Liam Gallagher – Saturday, 10.05pm

Dhani Harrison – Saturday, 11pm

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Sunday, 12.05pm

Foals – Sunday, 1.50pm

Coldplay – Sunday, 4.40pm

Smashing Pumpkins – Sunday, 6.25pm

Joe Cocker – Sunday, 7.40pm

The Who – Sunday, 9.05pm

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Drivers will log-in from home using the internationally renowned iRacing platform. They will use current Holden ZB Commodore and Ford Mustang Supercars available with liveries of their own choosing.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer says, “This is about entertaining content. While we expect a strong and robust competition, ultimately this is designed to keep Supercars fans entertained during the period when we can’t race on the track. Fans watching from home will be able to hear the drivers during races, while a number of webcams will be set-up for broadcast as well. We expect to run a variety of different race formats across the Series to ensure this stays fresh and entertaining. Expect traditional two-race formats in earlier rounds, however all variety of formats including enduros, mystery rounds, night races and reverse grid races are all expected. We are still finalising the entire list of tracks we will race on and can confirm Round 1 will be Phillip Island and Monza.”

Drivers will compete for points in each race and a Champion will be crowned at the conclusion of the Series. Seven-time Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup says he’s looking forward to taking part in his first ever competitive sim-racing series.

“We always want to put on a good show, so it’s great for the sport and the fans knowing we can still race while the season is on hold. I usually back myself, but the young blokes have the advantage here. My money’s on my teammate, SVG, to be up the front. I know he races against a few of the guys down Pit Lane, even some of the Formula 1 drivers, so hopefully he’ll be representing the Red Bull Holden Racing Team on the podium. It will be a learning curve for me as I haven’t used a sim in a very long time and don’t use it as part of my training, but I’m looking forward to a new challenge and, most of all, I’m rapt that we can still provide some entertainment when everyone needs it most. I’m looking forward to having some fun with the Supercars All Stars Eseries and giving the fans something to cheer for until we can hit the track again.”

Reigning Supercars 2019 Champion, Scott McLaughlin said the Eseries offered a great opportunity for drivers to maintain their focus during the break from the track.

“I’m a big fan of online racing, and you can often find me in my Simworx simulator keeping my eye in between races,” said McLaughlin. “With this unprecedented situation meaning we can’t race our real cars, I think this is as good a substitute as possible. How cool is it that we can do this? We’re pretty much the only sport that can still compete in the online space. This has the potential to introduce a whole new legion of fans to our sport. I’m really excited about this and am looking forward to racing my Shell V-Power Racing Team Ford Mustang in the Supercars All Stars Eseries.”

The Eseries, which will be live streamed across Supercars’ digital channels, will run prior to the third instalment of the Supercars Eseries competition using sim-racing experts, which will begin later this year.

April 8th, 2020 sees the inaugural Supercars All Stars Eseries start their engines – all racers are taking part and ain’t no one leaving anything in the tank. By all accounts, SVG is the one to beat, but who knows?!

Additionally both IndyCars and NASCAR iRacing revving up later in April 2020.

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Spark has today announced that it has entered into an agreement for Sky Network Television Limited (Sky) to purchase its entertainment streaming business, Lightbox.  

Matt Bain, Marketing Director for Spark, explains, “Early in 2019, we started a process to identify a local or international media partner who could enhance Lightbox’s content proposition and support its growth, while bringing the best and broadest range of content to our customers.  

“In the last five years, there has been significant growth and evolution in the subscription video on demand (SVOD) market. Selling the Lightbox business to Sky ensures a sustainable future for Kiwi SVOD services, while giving us the ongoing ability to provide access to a high-quality TV and movie streaming service, which benefits from a significantly enhanced range of entertainment content from Sky.” 

Sophie Moloney, Sky’s Chief Legal, People and Partnerships Officer, says: “This deal enables Sky to merge Lightbox with our own entertainment streaming service Neon to create a supercharged SVOD service for New Zealanders.  The new enhanced service will combine the best features of Neon and Lightbox, and offer an outstanding range of entertainment content from New Zealand and around the world in a proudly kiwi way. 

“We’re excited at the possibilities the deal presents, and the opportunity to attract new customers to Sky and continue to grow our streaming services.  We’re delighted to be partnering with Spark to offer the enhanced service to Spark customers and look forward to revealing more details in 2020.” 

A conditional sale and purchase agreement has been signed and completion of the deal is anticipated in the next few months, subject to commercial, legal and regulatory approvals as required. 

There will be a transitional period following completion where Spark will continue to provide support for the Lightbox service, as the parties complete technical work to fully transition the platform to Sky.  

Spark customers who are currently using Lightbox will continue to receive Lightbox ‘on us’ as part of their eligible mobile and broadband plans both while the deal is concluded and through a transitionary period. Following the transition period, Spark will partner with Sky to make the combined entertainment streaming service available to Spark customers through its broader entertainment offers on mobile and broadband. 

Lightbox customers who are paying for the service directly will continue to be able to enjoy the same great content they do today, and once Lightbox becomes part of Sky’s new combined entertainment platform, customers will have access to an enhanced range of entertainment content. 

Over the past five years, Lightbox has become New Zealand’s leading local subscription-based entertainment streaming business. Lightbox has been a valuable part of Spark’s offer to mobile and broadband customers, while also attracting customers who purchased the streaming service directly.  

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The 2019 Huawei Mate30 Pro New Zealand Television Awards have just wrapped up with Sky taking home two major category wins for Sky Sport and Prime.

Congratulations to Brian Hitchcock, Dean Pooley, Gareth Thorne, Simon Head, and Mark Malaki-Williams who took out the ‘Monstavision Best Sports Programme’ category with part one of their three-part Sky Sport documentary, Keeping The Faith: 25 Years Of The Warriors.

Part one of the docu-series premiered in May on Sky Sport 2 and documented the Warriors’ early years, from the creation of the club right through to their first six seasons as a team. Both archival footage and unique interviews were used to tell the story that had Kiwi league fans across the country captivated and eagerly awaiting subsequent episodes.

Keeping The Faith

“As the home of sport in New Zealand, we are delighted to win this prestigious award recognising the skills and storytelling talent of our Sport Production team. This documentary series was a labour of love and acknowledges our strong and long-standing partnership with the Warriors, past and present,” says Brian Hitchcock, Head of Sports Production.

Owen Hughes accepted the award for ‘Best Factual Series’ on behalf of the crew behind Uncharted With Sam Neill. The local production was produced by Frame Up Films for Prime in New Zealand, and followed the Pacific voyage of Captain James Cook in the 18th century.

This documentary, led by internationally-recognised actor Sam Neill, was made with the support of New Zealand on Air and was available free-to-air on Prime (as well as Neon) for Kiwi audiences.

Uncharted With Sam Neill

“Congratulations to our Prime and Sky Sport teams for their wins tonight. It’s fantastic to see their talent and dedication recognised in this way. On behalf of our 1,100-strong crew at Sky, they’ve done us extremely proud,” says Martin Stewart, Sky CEO.

“We love creating great local television for New Zealand audiences, and both of the awards tonight cover topics that mean a lot to Kiwis. Keeping the Faith tells the great sporting story of the Warriors’ journey from the start to where they are now ­– a strong competitor with an incredibly loyal fan base. If you haven’t seen it yet make sure you catch it on Sky Sport Now. Uncharted with Sam Neill is also a great watch and takes viewers through a deep dive at an important part of New Zealand history.

“Together, these awards recognise the depth and breadth of our sport and entertainment offering,” adds Stewart.

Sky wins at NZ TV Awards:

Monstavision Best Sports Programme

• Keeping The Faith Episode One

Sky Sport (Sky NZ) – Brian Hitchcock, Dean Pooley, Gareth Thorne, Simon Head, Mark Malaki-Williams

Available on Sky Sport Now

Best Factual Series

• Uncharted With Sam Neill

Frame Up Films (for Prime) – Owen Hughes

Available on Neon

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It would be hard push to find anyone who doesn’t know or love a Monty Python bit, even if they don’t know it.

Whether it is the black knight convinced his decapitation is a flesh wound, the dead parrot being returned to the pet shop, or Wellington stadium belting out always look on the bright side of life at the final game of a brutal season. Monty Python has become the icon of comedy worldwide, and for a lucky few the O2 hosted a final show over 10 days with the finale broadcast worldwide. Monty Python: The Meaning of Live gives some fascinating insight behind the iconic groups come back / retirement shows.

The Meaning of Live isn’t a massive series of skits so if you are looking for a live show or collection of classic moments this isn’t the show for you. Instead it delves more into the members of the pythons except Graham Chapman, who passed away. You witness the buildup and performance of their live show after being away for so long, dotted with moments about the history of the Pythons.

The documentary would have worked better as a series.

A fair amount of time is spent delving into their memories of Chapman, and the small slices of history could have easily filled several one-hour pieces which could have been a much more informative documentary. The most glaring part of this is when it mentions the live show is so they can afford to pay their bills from being sued, but it doesn’t go into this enough. I wound up Googling it later to find out more about why they were sued and how they didn’t win.

What was interesting was the footage between skits as members were talking to each other or staff as other pieces of the show went on. It was interesting to see how different they were, how much they disagreed, yet worked together to make a cohesive, extraordinary comedy series and amazing stage shows. Given how many teams with similar visions get so fractured, to see them after all this time away from the shows having so much fun and being so supportive of each other while still being so creatively different was delightful to witness.

Monty Python: The Meaning of Live will be an interesting insight for many fans. It isn’t a new comedy show, or the live show itself, but if you have enjoyed any of the output that these extraordinary comedians have produced over the years then it will be a wonderful and fascinating watch. If you haven’t got any interest in knowing what was happening behind the scenes, then this one won’t provide much value.

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 Gunpowder & Sky’s sci-fi brand DUST announced today that its sci-fi channel, DUST^x, is significantly broadening its reach by launching on additional OTT platforms, including Comcast FLEX, Vizio TV and Sling TV, as well as on Samsung TV Plus in the UK, serving sci-fi fans in the UK for the first time.

In conjunction with the expansion of DUST^x on multiple OTT platforms, DUST is also growing their content offering and launching two new original sci-fi series on DUST^x; “Orpheus Project” and “Restoration”. Season one of “Orpheus Project” will debut on September 20th, followed by release of season two on October 20th, 2019.

Episode one of “Restoration” is set to premiere on September 9th, 2019, with a new episode premiering each day through September 13th. This news accelerates its original programming of more than 200 hours of science fiction content with more licensed films and series to be announced in the coming months.

“Since its launch on Roku, DUST^x has surpassed our expectations in terms of viewership and retention, driven in large part by our loyal fanbase of sci-fi lovers,” said Eric Bromberg, DUST GM . “In response to audience demand, we are expanding our distribution to more platforms as well as our programming with more original and global series.”

DUST^x has quickly become the go-to destination for science fiction, offering timeless classics like Event Horizon, The Running Man, “Mystery Science Theatre 3000” and “Roswell”, alongside cutting-edge fare like A Scanner Darkly and dozens of provocative original short films.

As a producer, distributor and purveyor of premium sci-fi content, DUST recently premiered the sci-fi western, PROSPECT, in theaters across the country, as well as the feature-length AI documentary, More Human Than Human and secured the rights to # 1 New York Times best-selling author, Kyle Higgins’ (Nightwing) Alec Siegel (Batman Beyond) and Rod Reis’ (Winter Soldier) interstellar noir comic, Hadrian’s Wall, and has partnered with Higgins to develop into a feature film.

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Many years in the making, the fantasy world-building Kiwi filmmaker Peter Jackson presents a new adventure unlike any you’ve seen before with Mortal Engines.

Hundreds of years after our civilisation was destroyed, a new world has emerged. A mysterious young woman named Hester Shaw leads a band of outcasts in the fight to stop London – now a giant predator city on wheels – from devouring everything in its path. The film stars Hera Hilmar as Hester Shaw, Robert Sheehan as Tom Natsworthy, Jihae Kim as Anna Fang, and Kiwi Hugo Weaving as the villain Thaddeus Valentine. 

Coming to SKY Movies Premiere this weekend (Sunday 28th July 2019, 8pm), the team at SKY sent their reporter Amber Peebles to talk to the Kiwis behind the production: Peter Jackson – producer, Christian Rivers – director, and Philippa Boyens – Co-producer/Writer.

Thanks to SKYTV NZ we have exclusive access to the interview which can be viewed above.

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In advance of the highly anticipated theatrical release of Quentin Tarantino’s original film, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Sony Pictures Television’s networks worldwide and regional broadcasters will come together to present a series of 10 eclectic films personally curated by the writer / director, all of which served as a specific influence in the creation of his latest 1969-set film.

The 10 films from the Columbia Pictures library, dating from 1958 to 1970, will air over consecutive nights in more than 80 territories worldwide beginning approximately one week prior to the theatrical release date of Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood in each market. Interstitial segments featuring specially created conversations between Tarantino and noted film writer and historian Kim Morgan will accompany each film.

In a collaboration between several Sony Pictures units, films from the series will air on Sony Pictures Television’s networks in over 60 territories worldwide timed to the local market release of Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. Additionally, the series will air via regional broadcasters including Australia (SBS), Canada (Bell), France (OCS), Italy (Rai), Japan (The Cinema), and New Zealand (SKY).

In New Zealand, SKY will play Quentin Tarantino’s selection of films on a dedicated SKY Movies Pop-Up, aptly named ‘SKY Movies Quentin Tarantino Presents Pop-Up’, which will be broadcasting all 10 films back-to-back on rotate from the 9th to the 15th of August 2019 – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’s New Zealand theatrical release date. Titles include Easy Rider (1969), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), and Getting Straight (1970).

To ensure the maximum enjoyment of these classic pieces of cinematic history, SKY is proud to open up the Quentin Tarantino Presents Pop-Up channel to all SKY customers with at least the SKY Starter subscription, increasing potential viewership over and above those who subscribe to the SKY Movies package.

“Sony Pictures made their Columbia Pictures catalogue available to me so that I could select a series of films representative of the era in which Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is set, The Swinging Sixties. I’m thrilled to host these movies so we can enjoy them together,” said Quentin Tarantino.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Said Mike Hopkins, Sony Pictures Television Chairman: “Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood promises to be a cinematic event. We’re excited to support it and bring these 10 fantastic films from the studio’s historic library to SPT’s network audiences around the world.”

Travis Dunbar, SKY’s Director of Entertainment Content adds: “To have Quentin Tarantino personally curate and host a selection of iconic films from this seminal era of Hollywood history is a genuine coup. The care and passion that’s gone into this project is testimony to his love of movies, and is the perfect cinematic warm-up for Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood. We are thrilled to give all SKY customers the chance to experience this selection of films which inspired Tarantino himself.”

The 10 films that comprise this unique series are:

• Arizona Raiders (1965; director: William Witney) – first play Friday 9 August, 3.40pm
• Battle of the Coral Seas (1959; director: Paul Wendkos) – first play Friday 9 August, 1.55pm
• Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969; director: Paul Mazursky) – first play Friday 9 August, 7.35pm
• Cactus Flower (1969; director: Gene Saks) – first play Friday 9 August, 11.25pm
• Easy Rider (1969; director: Dennis Hopper) – first play Friday 9 August, 9.35pm
• Getting Straight (1970; director: Richard Rush) – first play Saturday 10 August, 5.20am
• Gunman’s Walk (1958; director: Phil Karlson) – first play Friday 9 August, 12pm
• Hammerhead (1968; director: David Miller) – first play Friday 9 August, 5.35pm
• Model Shop (1969; director: Jacques Demy) – first play Saturday 10 August, 3.25am
• The Wrecking Crew (1968; director: Phil Karlson) – first play Saturday 10 August, 1.25am

The SKY Movies QT Presents Pop-Up will be available to all SKY customers who subscribe to at least SKY Starter from 12pm on Friday 9th of August 2019 until 11pm on Thursday 15th ofAugust 2019.

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