Sky Deutschland Expands Warner Bros. Deal

Three year deal with the German pay TV operator includes SVOD and exclusive pay TV rights

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/31/2012 6:02:33 PM

Sky Deutschland AG has inked an expanded three year programming deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution that gives it exclusive SVOD rights for all the studio's new releases during the first pay window and exclusive pay TV rights for all Warner Bros. films across all distribution channels, including satellite, cable, IPTV, internet, and mobile.

The deal, which runs through 2015, includes such films as J. Edgar, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, the new Tim Burton–Johnny Depp collaboration Dark Shadows, which will be presented on Sky in 3D, and The Dark Knight Rises as well as such the successful German local productions as Kokowääh and Männerherzen und die ganz ganz große Liebe.

As part of the deal, all this content will also be available on Sky Anytime Sky Film, which allows customers to watch the films on demand at no additional cost.

The multi-platform rights will allow the operator to expand its Sky Go offering, which provides customers with access to films online and via the iPad on demand.

The deal is particularly important for Sky because Warner Bros. was for the third year in a row the top film distributor in Germany in 2011, representing three of the top five box office hits in Germany last year -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Kokowääh and Hangover 2.

Warner Bros. also held the top spot in local productions.

Altogether, more than 30 Warner titles premiered via Sky on TV within the last year.

In a statement, Gary Davey, executive VP of programming at Sky Deutschland called the agreement "one of our most important movie deals ever."

"Having completed similar deals last year with further important film studios, the addition of our new arrangement with Warner ensures Sky is the undisputed home of film in Germany and Austria," Davey added. "Warner has always been an important partner for Sky and we are delighted to extend our partnership in such a strategic manner. Not only does this deal secure one of Hollywood's most important suppliers for Pay TV, it also guarantees quality films for our innovative services Sky Anytime and Sky Go."