Sky D CEO sees bright future for TV

The CEO of German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland, Carsten Schmidt, considers television as we know it not to have reached its end.

People now carry their own screens with them which makes broadcasters offer an increasing number of products for mobile usage, Schmidt told German magazine Bunte. “But I also believe that the TV set in the living room will stay the centre of entertainment. People want to jointly experience and watch something.”

The public TV broadcasters will also continue to exist, but they must not stick in their tradition, said Schmidt. “TV licence fee payers want to know more than ever what happens with their funds being spent by the broadcasters.”

For Sky’s original productions, Schmidt demands quality and exclusivity. “Be courageous, Sky is not mainstream! We will take the freedom to deliver the quality and exclusivity our customers expect from us,” he stressed.

From October 21, 2016, Sky Deutschland will screen 10-part drama series The Young Popewith Jude Law, a co-production by Sky, Canal+ and HBO.

Sky Deutschland loses pace, but adds Sky Q

Sky Deutschland only acquired 120,000 new subscribers in the last three months of 2015, considerably less than the 214,000 new customers the German pay-TV broadcaster reported in the important Christmas quarter 2014.

The strong increase in 2014 was based on special effects, according to a Sky Deutschland spokesman, mainly the takeover of former Telekom Entertain Bundesliga subscribers and less 24 month contracts up for renewal than in 2015.

In total, Sky Deutschland had 4.49 million subscribers on December 31, 2015. One year ago, the figure amounted to 4.12 million.

While turnover rose by 10% to €963 million, Sky Deutschland didn’t manage to improve its operating profit in the second half of 2015. The loss increased from €19.5 million to €47.3 million which the broadcaster mainly attributes to increasing programming costs of €23.6 million relating to the Bundesliga rights.

Later this year, Sky Deutschland wants to launch a new Sky+ HD box offering updated features and technology. The box will be compatible with the functionality of the Sky Q box to be introduced in the UK in February 2016, giving customers the ability to access Sky Q featuresat a later date.

Sky-D holds Champions League

Sky Deutschland has been awarded the live broadcast rights to the UEFA Champions League in Germany through until 2018.

The cross-platform rights include satellite, cable, IPTV, web and mobile. The new deal runs from the 2015/16 season through to 2017/18. Sky-D will show 146 matches live per season, 128 of them exclusively, from the play-offs to the final including the UEFA Super Cup.

Carsten Schmidt, chief officer sports, advertising sales and internet, Sky Deutschland said: “The UEFA Champions League is a source of great drama and incredible stories. Memories of the final in Munich in 2012 and the German-German final in Wembley in 2013 continue to resonate with the football fans for months and years after the match. As the official TV partner in Germany, we are thrilled to continue sharing these stories on Sky.”

Sky also currently shows the Bundesliga, the 2nd Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Europa League and the English Premier League live.

It’s UK compatriot BSkyB was not so fortunate; losing live Champions League rights from the start of 2015/16.