Latest news with #SkyShowtime
Times
05-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Call centre closures rack up costs for Sky
Sky's plans to axe three customer call centres will cost the broadcaster as much as £35 million, accounts filed by the broadcast giant show. The former FTSE 100 company, owned by US conglomerate Comcast since 2018, has also registered a new impairment charges in UK filings on its interest in on SkyShowtime, a lossmaking European streaming service that is a joint venture with America's Paramount. Led by chief executive Dana Strong, Sky's financial performance has become harder to gauge since it was swallowed up into Comcast. Its revenues and profits are reported through numerous companies in the UK. Accounts for six of them, filed last month, show a drop in operating profits of 20 per cent to £352 million, in part because of falling advertising revenues and investments in building Sky's mobile and broadband products. Sky said that revenues at its main businesses grew from £11.1 billion to £11.2 billion, although this does not account for all of its group turnover. It said that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) were broadly flat at £1.2 billion. Comcast acquired Sky for $39 billion in 2018. Four years later, Comcast had to write down Sky's value by $8.6 billion. Further, smaller writedowns have been made since then. Last year's accounts showed that Sky had written down the value of its international operations, which include Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia, by £1.2 billion; while a £327 million impairment charge was registered against Showtime. In 2024, a further £245 million was written off the value of Showtime. Last month the company announced the sale of its German arm to RTL Group for an initial €150 million. And the accounts showed a further estimated cost of £30 million-£35 million for closing three of its ten customer service centres. This move, announced in March, put 2,000 jobs at risk. Sky Group's chief financial officer Simon Robson said the company had 'delivered strong financial results during a year of meaningful strategic progress', which included on-screen success for Sky Originals and the launch of the Sky Mobile network in Ireland and Italy.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Wicked,' ‘Anora,' More ‘Poker Face,' Record Number of Local Originals on SkyShowtime Slate (Exclusive)
Wicked, Oscar winner Anora, seasons 2 of Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne, and Landman, featuring Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia, and Sam Elliott, season 3 of Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone, as well as Dexter: Resurrection with Michael C. Hall are among the high-profile titles coming to European streaming service SkyShowtime this year. The streaming joint venture of Comcast and Paramount Global unveiled its slate, including new and exclusive series and first-run Hollywood films, on Tuesday. SkyShowtime also said that 'a record number of local originals' will be coming to the service this year. More from The Hollywood Reporter Locarno Film Festival: Lebanon's Abbout Productions to Receive Producing Award From Popcorn to Pop Culture: Wanda Film Chair Chen Zhixi Unveils Vision for "Super Entertainment Verse" How Clear Angle Studios Is Harnessing the Power of Hollywood's Most Sought-After VFX Tech Among other TV hits, the fourth season of Mayor of Kingstown, starring Jeremy Renner, and season 2 of Seth MacFarlane's comedy Ted are part of the content lineup for SkyShowtime this year, along with such fresh fare as mystery All Her Fault, starring Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning, adventure series Atomic with Alfie Allen and Samira Wiley, the thriller The Iris Affair with Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander, mockumentary The Paper from Greg Daniels (The Office) and Michael Koman (Nathan for You). All seasons of the U.S. comedy classic The Office will also be available on SkyShowtime from June 20, along with all seasons of legal drama Suits from July 17. 'Other iconic series coming to SkyShowtime include the previously announced third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, premiering on Aug. 4, as well as the newest installment of the hit global NCIS franchise, NCIS: Tony & Ziva, set to launch this autumn,' the streamer said. Among the film hits becoming available on SkyShowtime later this year are the likes of gothic horror film Nosferatu, featuring Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult, and The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce, which will be streaming in select markets. SkyShowtime's upcoming local originals include Spanish original Arcadia, comedy Nails, two Polish originals, namely the continuation of Glina and documentary Krychowiak: One Step from the Top. 'Fresh Swedish comedy-drama Where the Sun Always Shines from critically acclaimed director, writer, and actor Felix Herngren will premiere on Nov. 10, with the second season of hit Nordic crime drama Veronika, directed by Academy Award nominee Mikael Håfström, also coming later this year,' the streamer said. 'We're excited to announce a host of Hollywood hits coming to SkyShowtime over the next few months, alongside some of the best of local storytelling,' said Kai Finke, chief content officer at SkyShowtime. 'We have an incredible lineup of entertainment for everyone to enjoy.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon, SkyShowtime Execs Talk Partnerships, Influencers, Content Cadence, Windows
Amazon Prime Video and SkyShowtime took the spotlight at MIP London on Wednesday, during a session entitled 'What Do Streamers Want?,' continuing a streaming focus following an earlier session with Warner Bros. Discovery and Tubi executives. 'Good volume and good cadence of content,' was the answer that Hannah Blyth, head of TV at Prime Video, Amazon, gave to the question about what streamers want. 'We are a quite mature service,' so a 'broad and well-rounded' slate is the near-term focus. More from The Hollywood Reporter Max and Tubi Executives Outline U.K. Strategies at MIP London Warner Bros. Discovery Sets Max Streaming Launch for Australia BBC Studios Bosses Tout 'Conclave,' 'Bluey' and Investing for the Long Term That includes targeted content for certain audience segments that can also reach broader audiences. She mentioned docu-series Molly-Mae: Behind It All as one such recent example appealing to you younger female viewers. Among other influencers-focused content targeting those influencers' big, loyal fanbases are the likes of Beast Games, she noted. Kai Finke, chief content officer at SkyShowtime, the European streaming joint venture of Paramount Global and Comcast/NBCUniversal/Sky, said the newer streamer's focus covers a few areas. 'We want to grow market share and present ourselves as a great destination for storytellers,' he said. 'We want to be a great partner and asset' and offer a 'great content portfolio to choose from for our audiences.' Confronted with a question about 'content austerity' in the post-Peak TV age, the two executives didn't want to use that phrase but outlined their strategies. Amazon can help put funding together and 'get … projects off the ground,' Blyth explained. The service recently unveiled a deal with Fremantle for revenge thriller series Kill Jackie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones that will bring the show to Amazon in the U.K. and Ireland, with Fremantle keeping other distribution rights. Blyth highlighted that taking it for a 'keystone market' and having a seat at the table from the script stage helped Amazon but also ensured that the show would get made. Meanwhile, SkyShowtime's Finke shared: 'You are navigating this market currently with a lot of creativity' and collaboration, including when it comes to the financing of projects. In fact, he said 'commitment' is one thing he wants to focus on, particularly a commitment to partnerships. And he noted that 'windowing is a great opportunity' to reach broader audiences and bring together partners. 'Windowing has not been an issue.' But Finke also highlighted that SkyShowtime is still in its early stages. 'We are in growth mode,' he said. 'We are investing.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire Sign in to access your portfolio
