Sky and BT sign breakthrough TV content sharing deal
After years of talks Sky and BT have come to an agreement to sell each other’s channels on their TV platforms.
Sky and BT agree content sharing deal
The deal means Sky will be able to market and sell the BT Sport service, boasting Premier League and Champions League football, to its customers directly through one single Sky contract.
In return, Sky’s full Now TV streaming service will become available on the BT TV set-top-box, opening up the full Sky Sports range along with Sky Atlantic, Sky One, Sky Living and Sky Cinema to BT viewers.
The so-called “cross supply” agreement represents a breakthrough after years of acrimony and on-off negotiations between the fierce rivals. Both parties have hailed it as a victory for their distribution and content strategies.
Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive of Sky, said: “This is all part of our stated strategy to enhance our customer offering, to broaden our appeal and to open up new revenue streams for our business.”
His BT counterpart Gavin Patterson added: “This is the next logical step for our TV and content strategy. Having built up an outstanding portfolio of exclusive sports rights and a loyal base of customers, we feel that now is the right time to broaden the ways in which we distribute BT Sport.”
The new services are expected to be available to customers from early 2019.