Sky CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz prepares for life without HBO output deal

Sky CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz at the Edinburgh TV Festival

ETVF: UK pay TV broadcaster Sky is considering “different scenarios” of how its partnership with HBO could evolve should their content pact be terminated in 2025, Sky CEO Cécile Frot-Coutaz told Edinburgh TV Festival.

Comcast-owned Sky has had an output deal with HBO since 2014, allowing subscribers access to flagship drama brands such as Succession, The Last of Us, Game of Thrones and its spin-off House of the Dragon.

The agreement is due to end in 2025 and many industry insiders are sceptical HBO will renew it. HBO and Warner Bros Discovery are set to roll out their combined streaming offering Max in the UK in 2026.

The launch in Europe will be staggered as output deals with Sky and Canal+ are resolved, but it is likely that Max will be keen to offer subscribers as much exclusive content as possible. If Sky fails to negotiate an extension to the pact, however, Frot-Coutaz says the satcaster is well prepared.

“Yes, Max will launch in UK, we all know that, but we’re both a platform and a broadcast business so there’s different scenarios as to how the partnership [with HBO] evolves,” she said.

“But there’s no scenario where Max won’t be accessible to Sky customers.

“The other thing I would say is that, while we all love the big HBO shows, only three of those series are in the list of Sky’s top 20 shows. The homegrown Sky Originals that we commission are incredibly popular with our customer base, so for context that’s worth bearing in mind.”

Frot Coutaz was speaking at a ‘Spotlight on Sky’ panel session in Scotland today.

She paid tribute to the legacy of outgoing MD of content Zai Bennett, who last month was named as the new CEO and chief creative officer at BBC Studios Productions.

He takes up the new position in November but a corporate restructure at Sky means that the company isn’t looking for a replacement.

Meghan Lyvers has been given an expanded executive director of original scripted role and Phil Edgar-Jones is now executive director of original unscripted. Meanwhile, director of documentaries and factual Poppy Dixon, who is currently on maternity leave, will now report to Edgar-Jones.

Frot-Coutaz said: “We’re not replacing Zai’s role but just the way we organise ourselves, which is not massively different from the way we’ve been working.

“After 10 years at Sky, Zai leaves a fantastic legacy and I’m really pleased for him. He’s going on to great things at BBC Studios, I’m sure.”

Frot-Coutaz was asked how the economic hardships of the global content industry have affected Sky’s operations and commissioning budgets in the last year.

“Times have been tough and the advertising downturn has hit everyone in the business,” she said. “Our broadcast business is very focused and curated, we’ve never been a volume player which means that we’ve been able to sustain our commissioning investments.

“Hopefully we’re starting to see signs of the tough times easing off, but it’s been hard for everyone.”

Sky is known for premium scripted shows such as the forthcoming Sky/Peacock series Day of the Jackal and this year’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Panel session moderator Rhianna Dhillon asked Frot-Coutaz what Sky was doing to help British prodcos and freelance workers during a severe industry contraction.

“We try to do our best,” she said. “We keep our payment terms and help the industry by not cutting, pushing or pulling and by cash flowing producers.”

In yesterday’s MacTaggart Lecture, playwright and dramatist James Graham made an impassioned speech about narrowing UK TV’s class divide while addressing issues around social mobility.

Frot-Coutaz said that Sky is playing its part in levelling up by making so many of its Original shows outside of London.

She pointed to the success of comedy series Brassic, which is filmed in the northwest of England and features working class characters.

“Contrary to what some people may believe, Sky is quite heartland,” Frot-Coutaz said. “We have a good amount of reach around the country and we probably skew slightly outside of the urban centres.”

In other news, Sky Arts today announced five new Originals spanning topics including music, literature, craft and visual art.

Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story (1×100’, SOS Productions Limited and Tara Films), is a portrait of the late Irish author; My Week With… (3×60’, Factory Films) profiles a trio of female artists; Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story (1×120’, Tigerlily Two Productions), is about The Selector singer; Anita Rani – The Brontës: Sisters of Disruption (w/t, 1×60’, Wise Owl Films) profiles the sibling authors; and Bill Bailey’s Master Crafters: The Next Generation (4×60’, Love Monday TV) celebrates traditional crafts.