Hit zombie show is coming - but who has the rights?

A scene from new zombie show Fear the Walking Dead.

Confusion over who owns the streaming rights to a hyped spin-off series of zombie hit The Walking Dead has highlighted the complex maze of on-demand TV options in New Zealand.

Fear the Walking Dead - a six-part series about the beginnings of a zombie apocalypse in Los Angeles starring Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis - begins screening on Sky TV's SoHo channel on Monday at 8.30pm.

But Quickflix, a minor player in the TV and movie streaming world, is touting streaming access to the show available the following day with no subscription required.

Episodes cost $2.99 each, or $3.49 for high definition. Once you own the episode, Quickflix says you can stream it across a range of devices.

Normally, SoHo shows like Game of Thrones stream on Sky TV's streaming service Neon. Sky told the Herald episodes of Fear the Walking Dead would be available on Neon, but they weren't yet able to announce when.

The show it's based on, The Walking Dead, screens free-to-air on TV2, but the first four seasons are available for streaming on Neon. Episodes from five seasons are also available for purchase on Quickflix at $2.99 each.

The issue highlights the fractured streaming market in New Zealand, where paid streaming services like Lightbox, Netflix, Neon and Quickflix battle it out for viewers against broadcast television and free streaming services like TVNZ's OnDemand, TV3's 3Now and Yahoo TV.

In other recent examples causing confusion, Netflix's own shows House of Cards and Orange is the New Black were being streamed by Lightbox, after episodes appeared on TVNZ OnDemand.

Whichever way you choose to watch it, Fear the Walking Dead has been well received by overseas critics, with some suggesting it's better than its counterpart The Walking Dead.

Rolling Stone called it the "mostly hotly anticipated TV debut of the year," while The Daily News said the show "struck all the right chords".

A second season has already been commissioned by American network AMC.

- nzherald.co.nz