Sky TV seals Vodafone resale and distribution deal

Sky Network Television has agreed a resale and distribution agreement with Vodafone after the mobile phone company bought Telstra Corp.'s New Zealand unit last year.

The agreement brings together previously separate arrangements with Vodafone and Telstra, allowing Vodafone to resell Sky TV's service and distribute its programmes to households via its own broadband network, Auckland-based Sky TV said in a statement.

Shares in Sky TV rose 1.3 percent to $5.30, taking their gain this year to 6.7 percent.

Sky TV has wholesale partnerships with Telecom, Vodafone and Slingshot, which aids the pay-TV company because it gets the benefit of their marketing efforts for bundled services.

In May last year, the Commerce Commission began an investigation into Sky TV's content contracts with internet service providers to check whether such deals tied up the market and prevented competition.

By Tina Morrison - BusinessDesk