Sky Extends HBO Carriage Deal With Warner Media. Adds Co-production Partnership for HBO Max series
HBO content is staying on Sky, as the media company extends their long-standing carriage deal with HBO parent company WarnerMedia, along with a new deal that will see Sky Studios and HBO Max collaborate on more original content for viewers.
Sky and HBO first agreed to an output deal in 2010, making Sky the home of HBO in Europe. Since then, the partnership has gone from strength to strength with Sky customers enjoying great HBO content such as ‘Watchmen’, ‘Succession’ and ‘Big Little Lies’, alongside acclaimed Sky original productions such as ‘Patrick Melrose’, ‘Babylon Berlin’ and ‘Gomorrah’ on Sky’s exclusive, channel Sky Atlantic.
The original deal was for five years but was renewed in 2015, meaning it would run out in 2020. The length of this new extension hasn’t been announced, other than saying it will keep HBO content on Sky for “many years to come.” The deal also covers content from Warner Bros. as well as from Turner channels.
You may know if you’ve been following the news, that there had been rumours flying around the internet about the possibility of WarnerMedia launching HBO Max in the UK. This new deal now rules that out. This brings us back to the question of ‘Batwoman’ on Sky One, which is a WB/WarnerMedia property. I checked with Sky to see if the new WarnerMedia deal changes things, and unfortunately, they confirmed it does not. ‘Batwoman’ has still been sold “elsewhere” and still won’t be appearing on Sky One. Frustratingly, we still don’t know who has the series.
In addition to HBO, the new expanded deal extends the pay-TV rights for Warner Bros first-run feature films and will bring Sky customers more movies from Warner Bros than ever before. The deal also includes richer on-demand content under the Cartoon Network and Boomerang brands.
Along with the extended programming output deal, Sky and WarnerMedia have agreed to extend their co-production partnership in a new deal that will see Sky Studios and HBO Max collaborate on more original content for viewers. Sky and HBO has been working extremely well so far, with their co-production ‘Chernobyl’ picked up 10 wins at last month’s Emmy Awards making the drama their most-awarded British series this year. Sky and HBO’s latest co-production, ‘Catherine the Great’ starring Helen Mirren was broadcast to critical acclaim earlier this month. In addition, Sky Studios will now also work with HBO Max programming team to produce premium drama and scripted entertainment for Sky and HBO customers across Europe and beyond, as part of a multi-year co-production deal.
“Our partnership with HBO, and now Warner Media, has never been stronger as Sky continues to thrive as Europe’s leading direct-to-consumer media and entertainment business,” commented Gary Davey, CEO Sky Studios. “Customers love our Sky original productions and together, Sky Studios and HBO Max will bring them more unique stories that you can’t find anywhere else.”
