Sky Studios launches with plans to more than double investment in original production

Sky today announced plans for Sky Studios, a new Europe-wide development and production capability. With the backing of new owners Comcast, under the Sky Studios plan Sky’s investment in originals will more than double from the current level over the next five years.

The announcement comes after the recent smash hit success of Chernobyl, which has been the most successful Sky original production ever, a record number of BAFTA winners for Sky, as well as several other European successes such as Das Boot and Gomorrah.

Sky’s increasing success with original productions, coupled with the ability to partner with NBC and Universal, puts Sky in a strong position to extend its leadership in this increasingly global, profitable, and strategically important area.

Sky Studios will create new productions for Sky channels, NBC Broadcast and cable, and Universal Pictures as well as for other distribution outlets.

Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, Sky, said:
“This is a transformational development for us. Sky Studios will drive our vision to be the leading force in European content development and production. Our ambition is to make Sky Studios famous for quality content and a place where Europe’s top creatives will want to do their best work.

“Being part of Comcast enables us to increase our investment and to maximise the advantage and leverage of the Sky Group and our partners, NBCUniversal. This is a clear signal of Comcast’s belief in our commitment to producing the best original content in Europe.”

Sky Studios will produce and develop original content across all genres, with a focus on drama and comedy. With the emphasis firmly on quality, Sky Studios plans to double the amount of originals currently produced by Sky. It will work in close collaboration with local Sky leadership teams.

Production will begin next month on Sky Studios’ first international project, a 6-part drama called The Third Day, a co-production with HBO and starring Jude Law.

Sky Studios will be led by Gary Davey, CEO, who is currently Sky UK’s Managing Director of Content.

Gary Davey, CEO Sky Studios, said:
“This exciting new venture is perfectly timed to meet the growing content demands of our customers. We look forward to working with the whole creative community, from individual creators to the big independent producers to produce more of the original content our customers love.”

Press contact:
Andrew Swailes
07975 688 993
andrew.swailes@sky.uk 

About Sky
With 23.7 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group.

We have 31,000 colleagues and together we want to connect our customers to more of what they love, including our award-winning original productions, like Patrick Melrose and Save Me, and great shows from our partners including HBO, Showtime and Warner Bros. And our ever-improving technology makes it even easier for customers to watch more of the shows they love with personalised recommendations and voice control and, our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract free service.

We treat our customers better than anyone else in our field, as Ofcom’s complaints data shows, and we look after our staff too. Sky is one of The Times Top 50 employers for women and we’re in Stonewall’s list of Top 50 LGBT-Inclusive employers.

We also use our position as the leading entertainment business in Europe to do the right thing. As part of Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, we’re committing to be completely single-use plastic free by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re supporting the WWF to protect our oceans with designated Marine Protected Areas.