BBC Studios has signed a long-term deal with Sky, making Sky the pay TV home of the BBC’s factual programmes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Rather than expand its own pay TV channels, such as BBC Earth, in these countries, the BBC will deliver 150 hours of premium factual content to Sky. These will appear on the German versions of Sky Nature and Sky Documentaries, which only launched last year. The deal runs parallel to a partnership with ZDF covering free-to-air broadcasts.
Acquired titles from the BBC Studios catalogue include Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World, Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic, David Attenborough: The Sound of Nature and Primates. Programmes will be available with both original (English) and German soundtracks.
Salim Mukaddam, Senior Vice President, EMEA Content Sales said:
“BBC Studios produces and represents the most authoritative and compelling factual content in the world. Our partners clearly agree as our content has never been more in demand. This new partnership provides Sky Deutschland with long-term access to our award-winning documentaries as the backbone of their new channels. Alongside our strategic partnership with ZDF, German audiences will now able to access a broad range of the very best factual titles from BBC Studios. We are pleased to be strengthen our relationship with Sky and excited to work together to bring success to the new Sky channels.”
Financial terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed. It comes at a time when the BBC is seeking to raise its commercial income following a licence fee freeze.
The BBC recently agreed new terms with Sky in the UK. This allowed Sky to integrate BBC on-demand and audio content on to its systems and platforms.