SkyShowtime – the major new European streaming service – today announced the acquisition of the exclusive European rights to 21 local series from Warner Bros. Discovery, including some of the most popular and highly rated programs of HBO Max in the region, outpacing the competition.
The streaming service which is a partnership between Paramount (owner of Showtime) and Comcast (Owner of Sky TV) acquired 168 episodes, or more than 150 hours, of local original scripted programming, including three series previously not available anywhere that will get their world premiere as SkyShowtime originals in 2023.
SkyShowtime said this will “significantly” accelerate its entry into original programming.
The SkyShowtime deal gives a number of series a new home after being dropped by WarnerBros Discovery as part of the cost-cutting moves that have dominated the US press. They same thing that happened to various US series happened in Europe as a number of more localized series were dropped from the service in favor of tax writedowns to clear up debt left over from AT&T. The deal includes three series which had finished production but never debuted. They are ID (Finland and Sweden), The Winner (Czechia and Slovakia), as well as Warszawianka (Poland). This will mean that they will start off as SkyShowtime originals instead of be seen as HBO Max shows that were later moved like other in the catalog. SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhan told Deadline that the move is a “landmark deal.”
“As a streaming service created specifically for Europe, SkyShowtime is committed to consumers in our markets. Local programming is an important part of our strategy, and we are pleased to be the home for these new series, as well as popular shows that resonated with audiences across the Nordics, Central & Eastern Europe, and Spain.”
The acquisition by SkyShowtime will give the streamer a lot to work with on top of properties that it was already able to work with via the partnerships with the powerful parent companies. Other Shows from HBO Max that will have a home on SkyShowtime include Czech It Out! (Czech Republic), Foodie Love (Spain), Hackerville (Romania), No Activity (Spain), One True Singer (Romania), Pray, Obey, Kill (Sweden), Ruxx (Romania), Success (Croatia), Todo Lo Otro (Spain), The Sleepers (Czechia), Tuff Money (Romania) and Welcome to Utmark (Norway).
