Virgin Media, Sky extend content partnership
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 19 July 2019

In the latest act of its strategy to working with ostensible rivals, leading UK pay-TV companies Virgin Media and Sky have agreed a new, multi-year partnership that will see customers gain access to new Sky content and functionality.

The deal will see Sky channels, including Sky Cinema and Sky Sports, continue to be available across Virgin Media platforms and from 2020, Virgin customers will be able to access Ultra HD linear and VOD content including sports and films, and an expanded collection of Sky boxsets available on-demand.

NBCUniversal’s suite of channels, including Universal, E! and SyFy, are included as part of the partnership, with Virgin Media customers also able to watch Sky Cinema through the Virgin TV Go app for the first time.
The new deal builds on the exiting relationship between Sky and Virgin Media which took another step forward earlier in July 2019 with Sky’s addressable advertising solution, AdSmart, becoming available across Virgin Media households in the UK.

“This expanded partnership with Sky really shows that, despite vigorous competition between us, we can join together to put viewers first,” said Virgin Media CEO Lutz Schüler. “Our customers can keep enjoying a vast collection of TV shows, films and live sport but now with greater flexibility and enhanced viewing quality. With our unrivalled ultrafast broadband paired with unlimited mobile connectivity and a line-up of fantastic programming, we give our customers everything they need to experience incredible entertainment in a way that suits them.”

Stephen van Rooyen, CEO UK & Ireland, Sky added: “Thanks to this extended partnership, millions more people will now have access to hundreds of Sky boxsets and our incredible UHD content, as well as all the great Sky content they had before, from top Premier League fixtures to BAFTA-winning Sky originals. This partnership shows what can be achieved when you put the customer first and is a great example of industry collaboration.”