Sky Box Sets Channel Coming to NZ

SKY in New Zealand is launching the Sky Box Sets channel in August and is doing away with its sci-fi network The Zone.

Sky Box Sets, which features a mix of drama and comedy, will debut in New Zealand on August 1. It will become available to all SKY domestic customers as part of the basic subscription at no extra cost.

With the addition of Sky Box Sets and the recently announced Jones! too channel, SKY will be phasing out The Zone as of June 30. Programming from The Zone will air on channels such as Jones!, Jones! too and Sky Box Sets.

Travis Dunbar, SKY’s director of entertainment, commented: “Sky Box Sets will feature an impressive lineup. Programming will include exclusive first-run drama series such as Bellevue, starring Anna Paquin; American Gothic, starring Antony Starr; and Mary Kills People, starring Jay Ryan—iconic Kiwi actors making it big in Hollywood and flying the flag for NZ. The new channel will also have encore screenings of critically acclaimed dramas such as Fortitude, 11.22.63 and Outcast.”

Dunbar added: “The current ‘golden age of television’ shows no sign of abating and it’s exciting to be able to offer Kiwis further access to some of the globe’s finest content on Sky Box Sets, bringing together a selection of exclusive premium drama and comedy.

“The long-form narrative has gone from strength-to-strength in recent years with viewers becoming invested in television and experiencing it like never before. While other broadcasters continue to focus on the reality genre, SKY has always been ahead of the curve in terms of premium drama content— firstly with the launch of SoHo and now with Sky Box Sets which offers the opportunity to watch an entire season of a series, in HD, from 7:30 p.m. every night.”