Sky CEO plans to stay in role

Sky TV boss John Fellet says the failure of his company's plan to merge with Vodafone does not impact on his future. Photo / file

Sky TV boss John Fellet says the failure of his company's plan to merge with Vodafone does not impact on his future.

The Commerce Commission yesterday rejected Sky's and Vodafone's merger proposal, citing Sky's exclusive rights to premium sports content which it said would cause people to switch from rival telcos, thus reducing competition in telecommunications markets.

Sky's share price closed down 13.1 per cent on the news, and was this afternoon at $3.80.

Sky has also been struggling to shore-up its subscriber base as consumers turn to alternatives like Netflix and Lightbox.

Business and technology commentator Paul Spain said he wouldn't be surprised to see some changes at the top levels of Sky's leadership, such as Fellet who has been chief executive since 2001.

On Radio New Zealand this morning, Fellet said the commission's decision did not impact on his future at Sky TV.

He said he enjoyed his role, which he carried out at the behest of shareholders, and has worked for Sky for 26 years.

"So I want the best for Sky no matter what happens."

Commerce Commission chair Mark Berry said the merger would likely have been allowed to go ahead had it not been for Sky's access to premium sports content.

"Given the merged entity's ability to leverage its premium live sports content, we cannot rule out the real chance that demand for its offers would attract a large number of non-Vodafone customers," he said.

This was also against a backdrop of the fibre broadband network being rolled out, making it an opportune time for the merged entity to attract customers with new offers, Berry said.

"If significant switching occurred, the merged entity could, in time, have the ability to price less advantageously than without the merger or to reduce the quality of its service."

It is still possible the decision could be appealed to the High Court, and Vodafone said in a statement following the decision that it would "consider all courses of action".