Sky-Fi comes down to earth

Customers are unlikely to be offered any more "bundled" offers of Sky TV and Telecom products after Sky said yesterday that its negotiations with Telecom to extend the popular deals had fallen flat.

Last year, Telecom promoted "Sky-Fi" packages offering customers special deals to take up a combination of a home phone-line rental, internet access and Sky's digital service.

About 44,000 customers signed up for the deals.

Sky chief executive John Fellet said the bundling agreement between Sky and 12.2 per cent shareholder Telecom had expired in March and, after initial talks, he did not expect that the two companies would be able to complete a renegotiated contract.

He said Sky was talking to "three or four" other potential bundling partners.

However, a Telecom spokesman said the two companies were continuing to negotiate.

Failure to renegotiate the contract would not affect customers who had already taken up bundled packages.

* Former News Ltd chief operating officer and INL director Peter Macourt has been confirmed as chairman of Sky TV, replacing Tom Mockridge, who is moving to Italy.

Mockridge leaves New Zealand next week to become chief executive of Italian pay television company Stream, 50 per cent owned by News Corporation.