Sky and Kick It Out form ground-breaking partnership to champion inclusion and combat discrimination
Sky and Kick It Out form ground-breaking partnership to champion inclusion and combat discrimination
- Sky pledges £3 million investment package (Mix of cash and Value in Kind support) over the next three years
- Sky will use media platforms to amplify Kick It Out’s fight for equality and inclusion in football
21 December 2020: Kick It Out has today launched a new three-year partnership with Sky, that will see Sky become its key broadcast media partner in the drive for inclusion in football and the battle against discrimination in all its forms.
Sky will commit £3m over the next three years, in a mix of cash and value in kind support, with Sky Sports committing to using its powerful voice, extensive reach and established channels to support the organisation that has been at the forefront of the fight against racism and discrimination in football for over 27 years.
As well as committing to use its editorial reach, voice and platforms to campaign for change, Sky will work on a series of initiatives with Kick It Out.
These will include partnering on educational initiatives, making it easier to report instances of discrimination online and inside football stadia, and developing annual transparency and insight reports on a range of issues relating to diversity, discrimination and inclusion.
Sky Sports partnered with Kick It Out on their recent #takeastand initiative launched during England’s match against Belgium at Wembley in October, and was a proud supporter in 2018 when Kick It Out celebrated 25 years of tackling discrimination.
Kick It Out Chair Sanjay Bhandari said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Sky onboard as the first new strategic partner, as part of our new vision to be a galvanising hub for inclusive change in football. We share the same ambition to bring football together and make it a game where everyone feels that they belong. This is an enormously exciting partnership. We look forward to working together to deliver real change in the game we all love.”
Stephen van Rooyen, EVP & CEO UK & Europe Sky said: “Our view at Sky is that there is absolutely no place for any kind of discrimination or racism in sport. As football’s biggest partner in the UK, we want to drive change and make the national game more inclusive and truly representative of the whole country. It’s time for us to do more – and we will. We are all in – to kick it out.”
In June Sky made a series of commitments to help tackle racial injustice. With a £10m investment each year for the next three years, Sky also pledged to;
1. Improve Black and minority ethnic representation at all levels
2. Make a difference in communities impacted by racism
3. Use the power of Sky’s voice and platform to highlight racial injustice
The partnership with Kick It Out is a significant step forward in Sky’s overall ambition to combat discrimination, not only in football but in all sport.
For more information contact Sky
About Sky
Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 24 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.
Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love - TV, music, games, online video, fitness and educational content, all in one place, easy. Our streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.
Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, I Hate Suzie and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, while Sky Arts, the UK’s only dedicated free-to-air arts channel, makes the arts accessible for everyone. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years alone.
We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We’re committed to being Europe’s first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we’ve been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity and we’ve put in place a new programme to invest £30million across our markets over the next three years to tackle racial injustice.
