Sky commits $38m to fight racism

European satcaster Sky is committing £30m (US$38m) to support the fight against racial injustice and invest more in diversity and inclusion.

Jeremy Darroch

To ensure the commitments are delivered, Sky said it would invest £10m per year across its markets for each of the next three years. Its work will be overseen, implemented and measured by new diversity action and advisory groups.

Sky said it had committed to improving black and minority ethnic (BAME) representation at all levels, and especially senior leadership; making a difference in communities impacted by racism; and using the power of Sky’s voice and platform to highlight racial injustice.

The company added that it would invest in education for its managers and leaders to ensure they have a thorough understanding of diversity and inclusion issues and are engaging in meaningful conversation with their colleagues and teams.

Its efforts to highlight racial injustice will kick off by airing documentary Eight Minutes & 46 Seconds: The Killing of George Floyd on June 15 across Sky Documentaries, Sky1, Sky Witness and Sky Atlantic simultaneously.

The documentary will also be made available for free on YouTube to ensure it has the broadest possible reach, while Sky will also collate a series of content related to black injustice titled Black Lives Matter on its Sky Q platform.

Sky is working with its parent company, Comcast, and fellow Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal in the US to make this a global effort to tackle racism and racial injustice, the firm added.

Its Diversity Action Group will be made up of diverse colleagues from across the satcaster, chaired by Sky’s UK and Europe CEO Stephen van Rooyen.

Made up of independent external contributors, it will advise Sky on how it can best deliver real and lasting change, both internally at Sky and externally in communities impacted by racism.

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch said: “I have listened to the views of our colleagues at Sky. What I have heard loud and clear is that we can and should do more to support the fight against racial injustice. We stand with our black colleagues and today we are committing to do more to tackle racism, provide more support to communities impacted by racism and create a more diverse and inclusive culture at Sky.

“To make changes that really matter, we will spend much more time listening and taking advice from those who understand the issues. We will work together with our black and minority ethnic colleagues and with external advisors to support real change, and we will use the power of Sky’s voice and reach to highlight racial injustice in the UK and around the world.”

It comes as protests in the US and beyond continue after the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on May 25.

Floyd was killed after police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while attempting to arrest him.

Other media companies to have responded to Floyd’s killing include JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, which has pledged to donate US$10m to charities committed to anti-racist agendas, while The Walt Disney Company has committed US$5m to support non-profit organisations that advance social justice.