Sky Player and UKTV sign new VoD deal
UKTV has signed a deal with BSkyB’s Sky Player service that will see its portfolio of newly-rebranded channels such as Eden made available online for the first time.
Sky Player is set to offer its subscribers on-demand content from UKTV’s factual service Eden and entertainment channel Gold from tomorrow, according to reports.
The VoD subscription-based service, which BSkyB launched in December, also plans to add National Geographic Wild, Sky Real Lives and Sky Movies Screen 1 and 2 to its line-up tomorrow.
Viewers will be able to access on-demand archive content as well as catch-up services from the channel’s current output.
Ben Phillips, UKTV’s head of business development and platform distribution, said: “All of our recent rebrand activity has been about creating a portfolio of multiplatform brands so we’re really excited about giving fans of Gold and Eden the opportunity to view these channels live online for the first time.
“By signing this deal with Sky Player, we’re offering greater flexibility to our content while catering to those viewers who are increasingly as comfortable watching shows online as they are through their TVs.
“We decided to offer our two leading factual and entertainment brands ahead of other pay-TV channels in our portfolio because we felt they’d add breadth and variety to the Sky Player offering,” he added.
In December, BSkyB made Sky Player cheaper than its satellite TV packages, offering users the choice of three subscription packages, which range from £15 to £34 a month (see BSkyB is set make its online TV cheaper than satellite).
Sky now plans to add a premium movies subscription pack and increase the entertainment pack from eight to 12 channels.
Griff Parry, director of on-demand at BSkyB, said: “We’re delighted to welcome two of UKTV’s new-look channels to the Sky Player platform and the addition of further third-party channels shows the strength of Sky Player as a natural aggregator of high quality TV online.”
News of a tie-up between UKTV and Sky Player comes just days after BSkyB expressed an interest in buying the UKTV portfolio, which is currently owned and operated by Virgin Media and BBC Worldwide (see Sky expresses interest in UKTV acquisition).
Last month, reports suggested that Virgin Media was planning to sell its content division, which is thought to be worth £500 million in total and includes assets such as its 50% stake in UKTV (see Virgin Media’s content business sees Q4 revenue increase).
Earlier in the month, it also emerged that BBC Worldwide is planning a joint venture with Channel 4, which will comprise of C4’s digital channels and “non-BBC branded UK television businesses” such as UKTV (see BBC Worldwide and C4 join forces).