Sky UK
 | This article needs to be updated. |
 | This article does not have information about TV company's history from the nineties until today. |
 Logo used since 2025 | |
| Formerly | British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (BSkyB) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 2 November 1990 (as British Sky Broadcasting) |
| Headquarters | London, England[1] |
Area served | |
Key people | Dana Strong (CEO) |
| Services | Broadband Video on demand Broadcasting Satellite IPTV Internet Television production Mobile |
| Parent | Sky Group |
| Subsidiaries | Sky Ireland The Cloud Sky Broadband Sky Home Communications Now Sky Subscriber Services Sky In-Home Services |
| Website | sky |
Sky UK Limited is a satellite television company owned by Comcast. It used to be called British Sky Broadcasting Limited, BSkyB and Sky. It offers television and broadband Internet services in the United Kingdom.
History
[change | change source]Origins
[change | change source]The present service can trace its heritage back to 1990, when BSkyB's predecessors British Satellite Broadcasting encrypted their respective film channels – Sky Movies and The Movie Channel which required viewers to get decoding equipment and a subscription to watch the channels. After the two companies merged, subscribers could get access to both channels, and two years later, the sports channel Sky Sports also became encrypted.
Present Day
[change | change source]In January 2020, Sky renewed a deal to offer Netflix to its customers.[2]
In March 2020, Sky announced a deal with Disney under which Disney+ would be made available for purchase to Sky customers with movies and film titles from 20th Century Studios would be available on Sky channels.[3] The Sky Cinema Disney channel closed down at the end of 2020.[4]
in November 2020, Sky signed a deal to show library and upcoming titles from Entertainment One.[5]
In 2021 Sky bought television rights to the German Bundesliga.[6] In 2025, a new deal split the rights between Sky, Amazon Prime Video and the BBC.[7]
In 2021, Sky renewed a deal with ViacomCBS to show movies from Paramount Pictures on its channels and to make Paramount+ available to customers of Sky Cinema in 2022.[8] In January 2025 customers were moved from the ad-free to the ad-supported version of the streaming service.[9]
In November 2021, Sky made a version of the U.S. streaming service Peacock, owned by its parent company Comcast, available on its on-demand platforms.[10] The separate service was shut down in January 2024.[11]
In May 2023, Sky renewed a deal to show movies from Sony Pictures.[12]
In connection with the upcoming U.K. launch of HBO Max in 2026, in December 2024 Sky reached a new distribution deal with Warner Bros.[13] Under the deal, HBO produced TV shows premiering before the end of 2025 would continue to be available on Sky channels and first-run movies from Warner Bros. would continue to be available on Sky Cinema[14], while the ad-supported version of HBO Max would be made available to Sky customers with new shows such as the Harry Potter TV series.[15]
In 2025, Disney Jr. returned as a TV channel exclusively on Sky after Disney had shut down all its TV channels in the UK in 2020.[16]
In February 2026, Sky announced a new deal with Disney under which customers would get access to the ad-supported version of Disney+ and Sky Cinema would launch a Disney+ movie channel.[17][18] Sky also announced that one of its TV packages would include Netflix, the ad-supported versions of Disney+ and HBO Max and Hayu.
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ "SKY UK LIMITED – Overview (Free company information from Companies House)".
- ↑ Ravindran, Manori (2020-01-19). "Netflix & Sky Strike Multi-Year Deal To Keep Streamer On Service". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Szalai, Georg (2020-03-02). "Disney+ to Become Available Via Sky U.K. Under New Multiyear Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Palmer, Roger (2020-12-08). "Sky Cinema Disney To Close This Month". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Kanter, Jake (2020-11-25). "Comcast-Owned Sky Signs Deal With eOne To Secure Access To Hundreds Of Movies". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Clover, Julian (2021-08-05). "Bundesliga to move to Sky UK". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Thornham, Marc (2025-08-20). "Amazon, BBC and Sky split Bundesliga rights in streaming switch". RXTV. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (2021-08-05). "ViacomCBS Partners With Sky to Launch Paramount Plus in Europe". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ "Sky to move Sky Cinema customers to new Paramount+ Basic (with ads)". www.broadbandtvnews.com. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Spangler, Todd (2021-11-15). "Peacock's European Flight on Sky TV Lifts Off in U.K., Ireland This Week". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Lukovitz, Karlene. "Sky To Shut Down Peacock U.K. On Jan. 9". www.mediapost.com. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Clover, Julian (2023-05-17). "Sky and Sony Pictures Television extend UK partnership". Broadband TV News. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ "Sky secures Warner Bros Discovery Max agreement". www.broadbandtvnews.com. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ "Sky brings together Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu into one single subscription, exclusively on Sky". skygroup.sky. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
- ↑ Elliott, Dave (2024-12-09). "Sky UK & Ireland Expands Deal With Warner Bros. Discovery For HBO Shows & Max Streaming Service | TV News". Geektown. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Thornham, Marc (2025-11-07). "Disney relaunching linear children's channel on Sky". RXTV. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
- ↑ Yossman, K. J. (2026-02-11). "Sky Inks Multi-Year Disney+ Distribution Deal, Offers Streaming Bundle With Netflix, HBO Max and Hayu". Variety. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
- ↑ Goldbart, Max (2026-02-11). "Sky Lands Disney+ & New Disney Cinema Channel After Striking Multi-Year Deal With Mouse House". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
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