Kodi Box Company My Box NZ Sold to Chinese Investor For $8.82m
- A supplier of piracy enabled Kodi boxes has been sold to a mystery buyer in Japan for $8.82m.
- The company, My Box NZ, has been facing legal pressure from Sky TV in New Zealand over piracy claims since 2016.
- Owner Krish Reddy mentioned the company would shut down with the loss of 6 jobs within 90 days.
One of the biggest suppliers of piracy-enabled Kodi boxes in New Zealand was bought out by a mysterious Chinese buyer for $8.8m. My Box NZ, the company in question, has been under legal pressure since 2016 after Sky TV sued the Kodi box-seller for $1m over piracy. Once the buyout is completed, My Box NZ will see a loss of 6 jobs once the company shuts down.
Krish Reddy, the owner of My Box NZ, claims that he was selling the piracy-enabled Kodi boxes to allow users to browse content for free after shelling out $182 for the box. With 80$ per month subscription fees for a service like Sky TV, it made sense for buyers in New Zealand to go for the much cheaper alternative.
Image Courtesy of Sky
Reddy suggested that his lawyers did not see any problems with the business plan of selling the company to the buyer as they had been importing the boxes from China for rebranding. Moreover, the defense attorneys mentioned that My Box NZ did not steal or infringe upon Sky TV’s business in any way.
Reddy moved around 80 units in the first six weeks in business. To get coverage from a national newspaper, My Box NZ advertised itself as “better than Sky” to over 50,000 people through emails. Over 50 Sky TV staff members received the email, making the piracy-enabled box seller get noticed.
My Box NZ had sold over 8,000 units as of last April, which is when Sky TV decided to sue the company. Reddy denied he was breaking the law and the lawsuit has been ongoing ever since. With the latest buyout taking place, even if Reddy loses the lawsuit the company will have profited by $7.82m.
According to Stuff, this is one of the biggest wins for Kodi box sellers in a sea of unhappy endings for people who are in the business of selling piracy-enabled boxes. It is unlikely such businesses will continue