Sky beefs up content slate with Entertainment One film deal
Sky today said it has inked a multi-million-pound film deal with Entertainment One as it looks to ramp up its content offering for the escalating streaming wars.
The long-term deal covers almost 200 movies from eOne’s library, including the Twilight franchise and Dallas Buyers Club, which will now be available to Sky Cinema customers at no extra cost.
It also includes exclusive access to a number of new releases, such as Christmas rom-com Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart, which had its theatrical release cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
The tie-up marks the latest effort by Sky to bolster its catalogue of films and TV shows amid growing competition from streaming rivals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
It has also signed integration deals with the likes of Disney, Discovery and the BBC in a bid to aggregate a wide range of content on its Sky Q platform.
The deal will also come as a boost to eOne — which was listed in London before its $4bn (£3.3bn) takeover by US toy giant Hasbro last year — allowing it to cash in on its roster of titles.
The company, which owns the rights to kids’ favourite Peppa Pig, has generated over £1.1bn at the UK and Irish box office over the last 12 years through blockbusters including The King’s Speech, 12 Years a Slave and 1917.
But Hasbro has suffered a sharp fall in revenue from its film and TV unit this year after the Covid-19 crisis brought production to a halt and delayed releases.
“We’re delighted to be expanding our relationship with Sky on this ground-breaking deal, especially during these challenging times,” said Stuart Baxter, president of international distribution at eOne.
“A partnership of this scale marks one of the biggest strategic deals we’ve done this year. We’re confident they will be a brilliant marketing partner for our content, working with us through the entire lifecycle.”