Is Streaming the Limit for Sky?
Bloomberg Businessweek|June 14, 2021
As its content providers start online services, the broadcaster pivots to create its own shows
Thomas Pfeiffer
Is Streaming the Limit for Sky?

On a nondescript road on the northern outskirts of London, a TV and film factory the size of 17 soccer fields is under construction. But while the 14 soundproof hangars and sprawling post- production facilities of the Elstree studio complex are being tailor-made to let U.K. broadcaster Sky create worlds of make-believe, the massive facility has a mission that’s all too real: keeping Europe’s biggest pay-TV company relevant in the face of Netflix Inc.’s global barrage of binge-able content.

Netflix doubled U.K. investment to $1 billion in 2020 and expects even more this year, when Sky (a unit of Comcast Corp. since 2018) will boost spending on original TV and film content by 50%, feeding an arms race for talent and production space. Netflix has practically taken over another major English facility, the historic Shepperton Studios, where owner Pinewood Group Ltd. plans to add 22 soundstages in the biggest-ever expansion of stage space in the U.K. Sky is fighting back by hiking annual spending on original content to £1 billion ($1.4 billion) by mid-decade—double the level in 2018—with half of its output to be made in-house rather than commissioned from third parties.

It’s a response to the stagnation of Europe’s pay-TV industry, and a realization that Sky’s traditional supply of hit U.S. shows is coming under threat as giant media companies cut out distribution partners and take content directly to viewers via their own streaming platforms.

Denne historien er fra June 14, 2021-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra June 14, 2021-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKSe alt
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023