There will be a new face on the European streaming scene soon, as SkyShowtime, a joint venture between Comcast and ViacomCBS, received full regulatory approval from relevant authorities. Brandon Blake of Blake & Wang P.A unpacks the news for us.
20 Key Territories
Spain, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands are all key anchors for the upcoming 20-territory roll-out, which will also include Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Hungary, and Poland. The new video-on-demand service has the potential to reach over 90 million homes, but will carry a paid subscription.
The new venture will be overseen by Comcast’s Monty Sarhan as CEO of the streaming venture. London-based, he’s also done a stint at Viacom, which may have been part of the appeal. He will report to Comcast’s Euro-giant, Sky, as well as the board of ViacomCBS’s Showtime.
No Other Roles Announced
We have no other information on the team members at present, which will be announced ‘in due course according to spokespeople. Likewise, we have yet to see further pricing details announced. 10,000 hours of content across a wide range of audience and genre categories has been teased, presumably drawing from both companies’ vast content libraries. Local programming, the new buzzword in content creation (or so it seems) is also strong on the slate.
SkyShowtime has been promoted as a combination of the best of European and U.S iconic brands. It certainly has the capacity to live up to this lofty promise. The key question is, however, whether a notoriously saturated market- Europe- can carry yet another content streamer, and what the uptake on the new service will be. Both Sky and Showtime, however, carry a strong brand saturation in the area, which will no doubt enhance their appeal greatly. This entertainment attorney will be watching carefully.
