Sky have signed an exclusive five-year deal, worth an estimated £150m, with HBO for UK broadcast rights to their programmes. The deal, which includes access to previous HBO series’ including Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Sopranos, will see all HBO programmes shown on UK Sky channels shortly after their US premieres.
Boardwalk Empire, Martin Scorsese’s adapted serial, will be the first show to air as part of the multi-million pound deal. The series, which stars Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly MacDonald and Michael Shannon, will air in the UK shortly after it’s US premiere in September. The deal is also set include upcoming series’ such as Games of Throne, and Luck, a new drama by Michael Mann and Dustin Hoffman.
Sky’s managing director of entertainment, Sophie Turner Laing, said of the deal, “Like HBO, we believe that innovative, high-quality content is worth paying for. We are therefore delighted to have partnered with one of the most renowned names in television. HBO has demonstrated year after year the opportunity for pay television to push creative boundaries and create must see TV.” To which HBO’s president, Charles Schreger, added “We are enormously encouraged by the ongoing success story of pay TV in the UK and Ireland and it makes sense for us strategically to find a partner who can sustain a real commitment to investing in content.”
It seems Sky are pulling out all the stops to ensure it has the best of US TV series, especially now that previous acquisitions Lost and Prison Break have come to an end.
Reported by: Digitalspy
