Comcast, ViacomCBS tap Monty Sarhan as CEO of streamer SkyShowtime

US cable giant Comcast and media company ViacomCBS have appointed Monty Sarhan as CEO of their forthcoming SVoD joint venture SkyShowtime, which is set to launch in more than 20 European territories later this year.

Monty Sarhan

Sarhan, who most recently served as senior VP of content acquisition at Comcast Cable, is set to take up the role later this month, pending regulatory approval for SkyShowtime. He will be based in London and report to the SkyShowtime board.

During his time with Comcast Cable, Sarhan headed the finance, compliance, strategy and operations teams. Prior to that he was executive VP and general manager of MGM-owned Epix.

Unveiled in August, SkyShowtime will house content from Showtime, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+ Originals, Sky Studios, Universal Pictures and Peacock.

The service is targeted at 90 million homes across Spain, Portugal, the Nordics, the Netherlands and Central and Eastern Europe. It will include drama, kids and family content, key franchises, movie premieres, local programming, documentaries and factual content.

The partnership between the two companies is being structured as a joint venture, with ViacomCBS and Comcast making an equal investment and sharing joint control of the service.

Other details, including the subscription price and official launch date, have not yet been revealed. Additional executive appointments will be announced in due course.

The planned arrival of SkyShowtime in Europe comes as both ViacomCBS and Comcast-owned NBCUniversal expand their streaming businesses across the continent.

In August, ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) revealed it was partnering with Sky, which is also owned by Comcast, to launch its Paramount+ streaming service in Europe starting in 2022.

Meanwhile, Peacock content began rolling out via Sky in 2021, starting with the UK and Ireland, and with plans to eventually make the content available to almost 20 million Sky customers.