Sky boss reveals OTT, content plans

European satcaster Sky will increase its £4.6bn (US$7.25bn) programming budget and is looking to ramp up its OTT services to secure growth, according to the company’s CEO.

Jeremy Darroch, who became CEO at Sky following the takeover by BSkyB of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia last year, said the satcaster would “raise our ambitions in content even further.”

“We are already Europe’s biggest investor in content with an annual spend of £4.6bn. And we plan to scale this even further,” he told the Enders Analysis Media & Telecoms Conference in London.

Darroch added that the company would be “careful to nurture” the local identity of Sky in Germany, the UK and Italy “as we bring the businesses together.” Sky is currently developing comic-based drama Diabolik for its German, Italian and UK markets, a deal agreed prior to the takeover, but further joint productions are expected.

The Sky CEO also said he sees “a big opportunity to use OTT video to drive pay TV penetration in way that’s complementary to our DTH business” across Sky’s territories.

“In all our markets, we now have streaming products that suit the needs and preferences of people who like our content but want to consume it in a different way,” he added. “By broadening choice, we’re unlocking new headroom for customer growth.”

Sky offers Now TV in the UK along with Sky Online in Italy and Germany, and Darroch said the combination of OTT and pay TV services was “unlocking new and profitable sources of demand.” He added that plans are underway to increase the push of Sky’s OTT services.