Paramount+ will launch on Sky platforms in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 2022. It is part of a multi-year distribution agreement that includes the extended carriage of the ViacomCBS portfolio of channels and the renewal of Sky as an advertising sales partner in some markets. It is the latest in a series of agreements positioning Sky as a leading aggregator of services.
Paramount+, the global subscription online video service from ViacomCBS, is the latest in a series of services to come to the Sky Q proposition, adding more than 10,000 hours of content, extending the Sky aggregation strategy.
At launch, Paramount+ will be available to Sky Cinema subscribers free of charge. Other Sky customers will be able to subscribe to Paramount+ as an add-on to their account.
Feature films from Paramount Pictures will remain available on Sky Cinema in the United Kingdom and will join Sky Cinema in Germany and Italy in 2022.
Raffaele Annecchino, the chief executive of ViacomCBS Networks International, welcomed the agreement. “This transformative distribution deal is key to accelerating our global ambitions in streaming while also supporting Sky’s strategic objectives to better serve audiences with greater flexibility in how they consume our content across all platforms.”
Stephen van Rooyen, the chief executive of UK and Europe at Sky, said: “This is another example of how we are innovating for our customers and further aggregating all the best apps and content together in one place on Sky Q, giving them more great TV to watch than ever before. Paramount+ is an excellent service with a huge range of fantastic films and TV series, and our new, broader agreement with ViacomCBS will benefit both businesses.”
Launched in March 2021, Paramount+ is currently available in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Nordics, shortly to be followed by Australia. It will be available in 25 markets by the end of 2021 and 45 by the end of 2022.
Outside the United States, Paramount+ will offer more than 500 movies, 2,500 hours of series, dramas and sitcoms from CBS, SHOWTIME and original productions, 1,000 hours of reality programming and 3,000 episodes of programmes for children.