Dec 15, 2017

BT and Sky agree content sharing deal

One of the most brutal battles in the UK television market has been resolved after BT and Sky struck a deal to carry each other's content. The reciprocal agreement means BT can offer Sky Sports, Sky Cinema and Sky Atlantic, home to Game of Thrones in the UK, directly to its customers, while Sky can sell BT Sport. The dispute had been simmering for years, as BT attempted to take on Sky in the pay-TV sector by outbidding its rival for exclusive sports rights and building its own entertainment base through agreements with content producers, including the US channel AMC. However, BT has struggled to build its brand in entertainment and to compete with the power of Sky, which spent almost £7bn on programming this year. Marc Allera, chief executive of BT Consumer, said the deal with Sky would help to bolster its TV service. The content deal will reduce friction for BT and Sky customers who previously had to source each service separately if they wanted the full range of channels.

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