BSkyB Makes Movie And Broadband Announcements

BSkyB’s movie channels are to be reorganised into genres, with the film channels being split into two separate subscription packages.

Currently called Sky Movies 1 to 10 and Sky Cinema 1 and 2, they will be split into two separate subscription packages along genre lines for the first time, with comedy, family classics and modern greats in one, action/thriller, sci-fi/horror, independent and drama in the other.

Sophie Turner Laing, the deputy managing director of Sky Networks, said the changes would enable viewers to enjoy “even greater control over the films they want to watch”.

The broadcast giant has also announced more details of its PC on-demand service, Sky Anytime, which is transferring to television.

Sky Anytime allows web users to watch films, Sky One programmes such as Lost and more than 1,000 Sky Sports clips.

The latest revamp comes a day after US cable channel HBO announced it was launching in the UK for the first time with a subscription video-on-demand offering featuring The Sopranos and Six Feet Under (see HBO Launches On Virgin Media VOD Service).

Last week, the newly-rebranded NTL, Virgin Media, announced a cable channel called Virgin Central offering on-demand content including a library of films and TV shows (see Virgin Media Launches Today).

A version of Sky Anytime will be accessible on TV from March. Sky’s new movie channels will relaunch on April 4. Previously called Sky By Broadband, Sky Anytime is currently only available on PC and mobile and had more than one million downloads in its first year (see Sky Anytime Reaches One Million Downloads).

BSkyB and the newly rebranded Virgin Media (see Branson Vs Murdoch: Round Three) are currently in talks to agree a new deal for Virgin to carry Sky’s basic portfolio of channels that reflect “the proposed new terms and considerable value of its basic channels” (see Branson Vs Murdoch: Round Three).

BSkyB: 020 7705 3000 www.sky.com