GoT It All: Game Of Thrones seasons 1 to 3 only on Sky
· Seasons 1 and 2 will be available On Demand from Monday 1 April
· Season 3 will air one day after HBO’s US premiere on Monday 1 April at 9pm exclusively on Sky Atlantic HD
Sky today announces that customers will be able to access GAME OF THRONES’ Season 1 and 2 box sets On Demand and via Sky Go on the same day the highly-anticipated third season launches on Sky Atlantic HD. The Golden Globe® and Emmy®-winning drama saga will return on Monday 1 April at 9pm, less than 24 hours after it returns in the US. Based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling book series A Song of Ice and Fire, chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom.
Elaine Pyke, Director, Sky Atlantic HD, said: "GAME OF THRONES has a huge fanbase in the UK and we are thrilled that from 1st April we will be able to give our customers access to Seasons 1 and 2 On Demand, as well as the new Season 3 episodes exclusively on Sky Atlantic HD, less than 24 hours after the US broadcast."
Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, GAME OF THRONES redefined the fantasy genre when it launched back in April 2011, and has since garnered much critical acclaim and a raft of awards recognition, including eight Primetime Emmys®, a Golden Globe® and a Screen Actors Guild award.
The third season, which Benioff and Weiss have called “the season that [we] have been anticipating from the very beginning”, will largely be based on the first half of George RR Martin’s hugely popular novel A Storm of Swords, which begins with the inhabitants of the Seven Kingdoms facing grave peril.
The season will see a wealth of acting talent join the cast, such as Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell, Mackenzie Crook as Orell, Ciarán Hinds as Wildling leader Mance Rayder, Clive Russell as Bryndon ‘The Blackfish’ Tully, Paul Kaye as Thoros of Myr and Richard Dormer as Beric Dondarrion.
Many of the series’ familiar faces will return for season three including Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aidan Gillen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Sophie Turner, Jack Gleeson, Alfie Allen and Peter Dinklage, who won an Emmy® and a Golden Globe® for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.
The creators have recently confirmed that they’ll be even more GAME OF THRONES this year, with each episode running close to an hour long. Benioff explained: “A super-sized season, as befitting Storm of Swords. Last year we had a lot of 52-minute episodes. This year is a lot of 56, 57.”
The On Demand and Catch Up services are available at no extra cost to more than 5 million homes with a Sky TV subscription, a compatible Sky+HD box and a broadband connection. The On Demand service has proven extremely popular with weekly downloads from On Demand more than doubling in the final three months of 2012 to 4.4 million. The award-winning Sky Go service is available on selected smartphones, tablets and PCs and continues to grow, with 3.1 million unique users recorded between October and December 2012.
GAME OF THRONES returns on Monday 1 April at 9pm exclusively to Sky Atlantic HD and Sky Atlantic +1.
Seasons 1 and 2 will be available On Demand and via Sky Go from Monday 1 April
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Notes to editor
About Sky Go
Sky Go brings together online and mobile TV in a simple service for Sky TV customers at no extra cost. Available on PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, selected Android smartphones and Xbox 360, Sky Go allows Sky customers to watch content depending on their subscription while on the move in the UK and Ireland through a 3G or WiFi connection. Each Sky home is entitled to register up to two devices, through which they can enjoy access to live channels and selected on-demand content.
On computers customers can access up to 43 live TV channels, including all six Sky Sports channels, Sky Movies, Sky News, Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, MTV, Disney, G.O.LD, Nickelodeon, NatGeo, History, Eden, Eurosport and ESPN, supported by an extensive library of on-demand content. Sky Go is also available to non-Sky TV customers, with monthly subscriptions priced from £15-£40.
Compatible iOS mobile devices: iPhone 3GS and above, iPad, and iPod touch 4th generation with iOS 5.1 or later, and is compatible on a total of 26 Android handsets, including OS versions 2.2, 2.3 and 4.0.
About Sky
Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company. Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.
Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.3 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes. More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.
Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator. Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.
Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi. NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV. Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.
Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts. Sky employs 23,000 people, has annual revenues of £6.8 billion and is estimated to support a £5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY). www.sky.com/corporate
