Virgin Media on demand content added to Sky Media VOD offering

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Sky Media serving VOD campaigns in Virgin content on demand

Virgin Media Television’s catch-up and boxset content (on Sky+ and Sky Q platforms) has been added to the Sky Media portfolio of VOD channels.

This is part of our long-term partnership with Virgin Media Television and means that Sky Media VOD campaigns will now be served across all the fantastic Virgin Media Television content available in Sky+ and Sky Q homes, including Love Island, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Season 9 of Love Island will be available to Sky customers on catch-up when it hits our TV screens in January 2023.

For information on how your brand can access some of the hottest TV shows of the year on the Sky on demand platform, contact your Sky Media representative. 

Sky Media partners with Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% for F1 coverage

Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% becomes title sponsor of Formula 1 2022 online video content, across Sky Sports platforms.

Sky Media and GroupM Digital, in conjunction with Wavemaker Ireland, have announced a season-long partnership with Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%, as title sponsor of Formula 1™ 2022 online video content, across Sky Sports platforms.

The partnership will revolve around Sky’s exclusive F1™ coverage of all race weekends including the paddock, every pitstop and podium finish in highlight form. The content is available to Sky and non-Sky subscribers across Sky Sports’ websites, Apps and Sky Sports YouTube channels (including Sky Sports F1™).

Commenting on the partnership, Ben Staves, Head of Digital at Sky Media Ireland, said: “Sky’s digital platforms enable cross-screen ownership of The Formula 1™ season – allowing access to younger, hard to reach audiences as well as multi-screen presence and messaging. All formats are clickable and highly viewable, with content driving dwell times of over an hour. We are delighted to have Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% come on board as the primary sponsor of our exclusive series of race highlights and pundit analysis across our network.”

 

The 2022 F1™ season will host 22 Races across the calendar year. Race Weekend 1 started in Bahrain on March 20th and runs through to the final race in Abu Dhabi on November 20th. The deal complements the existing Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% sponsorship of the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1™ Team. The Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% logo takes pride of place on the car and features on the team kit worn by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. It is also displayed inside the car, which is important when targeting a video audience, as the cockpit view is regularly shown.

 

Richard Ingram, Global Brands Director at Asahi Europe & International said: “This new partnership with Sky Media is another landmark moment for Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% as we further establish our commitment to Formula 1™. Our successful ongoing partnership with the Aston Martin Cognizant Aramco Formula 1™️ Team has seen the alliance of two iconic brands with fantastic synergies around style and passion come together, while Sky Media offers us the perfect opportunity to take our brand-new alcohol-free beer to millions of Formula 1™️ fans.”

Sky announces biggest ever line-up of new and exclusive original TV shows & films in 2021

In 2021, Sky is bringing you more than 125 new Sky Originals, our biggest ever line-up of TV and film that you won’t want to miss.

For the first time ever, this year we’ll be bringing you 30 new Sky Original films and 30 new Sky Original documentaries, on top of our great drama, comedy, entertainment and arts series. Altogether that’s 50% more original TV and film than last year, packed full of great stories and your favourite stars.

Movie fans are in for a treat as Sky Cinema becomes the home of Sky Original film with at least two new original films every month and this is set to rise to one a week from next year.

 

For 2021 there’s an exciting mix of films featuring some of the biggest stars Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Hugh Bonneville, Keeley Hawes, Michael Caine, Lena Headley, Rita Ora, Raff Law, Patrick Stewart, Meera Syal, Andy Serkis, Noel Clarke, Adam Devine, Ken Jeong, Maggie Smith, Kristen Wiig, Samantha Morton, Tom Felton, Jonathan Pryce, Jim Broadbent, Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro, Janelle Monae, Alicia Vikander, Julianne Moore, Allison Janey, Mila Kunis, Juliette Lewis, Fiona Shaw, Kate Beckinsale, Stanley Tucci, Laverne Cox and more.

With films for everyone to enjoy, there’s A Boy Called Christmas, the origin story of Father Christmas, re-imagined in Gil Keenan’s live action adaptation of Matt Haig’s best-selling novel, and family favourites such as Extinct and Monster Family 2. There are films inspired by true stories and real people with Save The Cinema, Creation Stories, Six Minutes to Midnight and The Glorias, action adventures with Jolt and SAS: Red Notice, comedies with The Comeback Trail and Breaking News In Yuba County and thrillers with Antebellum.

And if real life, eye opening stories are your thing we’ve got you covered with Sky Documentaries, Sky Crime and Sky Nature. Our new Sky Original documentaries include  an exploration of how Liverpool became the epicentre of a drugs boom that was to change Britain forever (Liverpool Narcos),  a revealing look at newly discovered footage from the Chernobyl disaster (Chernobyl 86),  a look back at Britain’s 40-year struggle with HIV/AIDS (Positive) and a forensic examination of the case of Jeremy Bamber and the White House Farm Murders (The Bambers: Murder at the Farm), executive produced by Louis Theroux and Aaron Fellows.

These new documentary announcements follow the recently announced Murder At The Cottage; a must-see documentary series by six-time Academy Award nominee, Jim Sheridan, looking at the case of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.

There’s good news for anyone wanting to get their teeth into high-end drama too. After clinching the BAFTA for best mini-series for the last two years (Chernobyl and Patrick Melrose), there are three new series on their way from acclaimed TV writers Paul Abbott (Shameless, No Offence) with Wolfe, David Farr (The Night Manager) with The Midwich Cuckoos and Joe Barton (Giri/Haji, The Batman) with Extinction.

Zai Bennett, Managing Director, Content, Sky UK & Ireland, said: “This year on Sky and NOW TV we’ve got an epic variety of entertainment for everyone, adding a brand-new slate of Sky Original films and Sky Original documentaries to our line-up of award-winning drama, comedy, entertainment and arts series.

 “If you love film, Sky Cinema is the place for you with the latest box office movies alongside our new and exclusive 30 Sky Original films, including A Boy Called Christmas and Save The Cinema and A list stars from Judi Dench and Eddie Izzard through to Morgan Freeman and Robert De Niro. And if real life stories are your thing, we’ve got compelling documentaries on everything from the drugs trade in 1980s Liverpool to the White House Farm Murders, alongside unmissable drama from world class writers including Paul Abbott, David Farr and Joe Barton.”

 

This bumper schedule for 2021 and beyond is part of Sky’s commitment to more than double its investment in original content by 2024.  And work is underway on Sky Studios Elstree, our new state-of-the-art TV and film studio in North London, which is set to be the most sustainable in the world when it opens in 2022. We’re also making all future Sky Originals net zero carbon as well.

Sky is also the place you can watch some of the best of US TV, with shows from HBO, Showtime and many more. The new Sky Original TV shows and films announced today are:

Original Drama: 

• Wolfe: Babou Ceesay (Guerilla, Rogue One) stars as a lauded forensic pathologist in this new drama written by Paul Abbott (Shameless, No Offence, Clocking Off). Coming Autumn 2021
• The Midwich Cuckoos (TX 2022) : John Wyndham’s classic science fiction novel is given a modern adaptation for the screen by David Farr (The Night Manager). Coming in 2022
• Extinction: A propulsive action thriller about a man who keeps reliving the same day over and over again. Written by Joe Barton (Giri/Haji) and starring Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You), Tom Burke (Strike), Anjli Mohindra (Bodyguard) and Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly).  Coming in 2022

Wolfe, The Midwich Cuckoos and Extinction join a line-up of high-quality Sky Original dramas already coming in 2021 including Landscapers starring Academy Award®-winner Olivia Colman, new prison break drama Intergalactic and returning favourites Britannia and Temple.

 Original Documentaries

• Liverpool Narcos: In the 1980s, Liverpool became the epicentre of a drugs boom that was to change Britain forever. With unprecedented access to some of the biggest players, this is the story of how drugs went mainstream and dealing became a multi-billion pound business. Coming in Spring 2021
• Bambers: Murder at the Farm: Using first-hand testimony and unseen archive footage to re-examine the shocking events at White House Farm, this documentary explores evidence that has emerged since the original trial of Jeremy Bamber. From Executive Producers Louis Theroux and Arron Fellows. Coming in 2021
• Positive: Positive marks Britain’s 40-year struggle with HIV/AIDS, through interviews with some of the earliest HIV patients and real-life heroes. Coming in Winter 2021
• Gangs of Macaque Island: A light-hearted animal docu-soap, following the daily lives of rival black-crested macaque troops in the remote forests of Sulawesi’s Tangkoko National Park in Indonesia. Coming in Winter 2021
• Chernobyl 86: Chernobyl ’86 tells the story of Chernobyl through newly discovered archive footage and original interviews with those who were there. Directed by Emmy Award winner James Jones. Coming in 2022

These five new Sky Original documentaries join a raft of factual programming already coming to Sky Documentaries, Sky Crime and Sky Nature in 2021, including Murder at the Cottage, Bruno v Tyson, and Shark with Steve Backshall.

Original Entertainment and Comedy

• Safe Space: A psychotherapist in a small market town dispenses advice to his clients to suit his own desperate need to control them. Starring, written and created by BAFTA-winning comedian Greg Davies.
• Russell Howard’s Antipodean Adventure: Russell Howard will be travelling around New Zealand and Australia in this new travelogue punctuated by stand-up comedy.

These new Sky Original commissions join returning comedy favourites Breeders (Martin Freeman, Daisy Haggard), Code 404 (Stephen Graham, Daniel Mays) Intelligence (David Schwimmer, Nick Mohammed), and Brassic (Joe Gilgun, Michelle Keegan),  as well as BAFTA Award-winning A League of their Own (Jamie Redknapp, Freddie Flintoff, Romesh), The Russell Howard Hour  and the previously announced The Deirdre O’Kane Show, which will begin filming as Live from Dublin’s Olympia Theatre this May. The show suffered a setback when Covid-19 struck but looks set to finally get underway with the same big names and is set to hit screens this autumn.

Original Film:

• Save The Cinema: Samantha Morton, Jonathan Pryce, Adeel Akhtar, Susan Wokoma and Tom Felton star in this new British film based on true events. Liz Evans makes it her mission to stop her local cinema from being demolished.
• Kindred: A psychological thriller about a vulnerable mother-to-be who is taken in by her recently deceased boyfriend’s mother and stepson, who seem increasingly obsessed with her every move. Starring Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve), Tamara Lawrence (The Long Song) and Jack Lowden (Mary Queen of Scots, Dunkirk).
• Creation Stories: Written by Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh, Creation Stories charts the true story of the rise and fall of Creation Records and its infamous founder Alan McGee, who signed generation-defining bands such as Oasis and Primal Scream.
• Breaking News in Yuba County: A dark and twisted comedy that explores the outrageous lengths some people will go to in order to garner some much-desired attention. Starring Allison Janney, Mila Kunis and Awkwafina.
• Six Minutes to Midnight: Emmy Award ® winner Eddie Izzard and Academy Award® winner Judi Dench battle to protect a group of students from the grip of Hitler in this World War II thriller.
• The Comeback Trail: Two movie producers who owe money to the mob set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. Starring Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones and Zach Braff.
• Antebellum: A terrifying new thriller with a kiss of horror from the producer of the acclaimed films Get Out and Us, starring Janelle Monáe.
• The Glorias: The Glorias is the female led story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem; known for her world-shaping activism, guidance of the revolutionary women’s movement, and writing that has impacted generations. Written and directed by Julie Taymor.
• Every Breath You Take: Academy Award-winning actor Casey Affleck stars as a psychiatrist who finds his life in turmoil following the sudden suicide of his patient. When he invites his patient’s surviving brother (Sam Claflin) into his home to meet his wife (Michelle Monaghan) and daughter, his family life and career are suddenly torn apart.
• Extinct Op and Ed are two adorable donut-shaped animals — FLUMMELS — who accidentally time-travel from 1835 to modern-day Shanghai. Starring Rachel Bloom, Adam Devin and Ken Jeong.

• Monster Family 2 To free Baba Yaga and Renfield from the clutches of Monster Hunter Mila Starr, the Wishbone Family once more transforms into a Vampire, Frankenstein’s Monster, a Mummy and a Werewolf. Starring Jason Isaacs, Emily Watson and Nick Frost.
• The Secrets We Keep In post-WWII America, a woman rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband kidnaps her neighbour and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her. Starring Noomi Rapace, Chris Messina and Joel Kinnaman. 

• Jolt A female driven action-comedy that follows Lindy (Kate Beckinsale), a bouncer with a murderous anger management problem that she controls with the help of an electrode-lined vest to shock herself back into normalcy whenever she feels homicidal. Starring Stanley Tucci and Laverne Cox.

This new line up of Sky Original films, joins Twist  with two-time Academy Award winner Sir Michael Caine, Dragon Rider, voiced by Felicity Jones and Patrick Stewart and To Olivia starring Hugh Bonneville and Keeley Hawes.

All of these exclusive shows and films sit alongside aggregated content on Sky’s award-winning Sky Q platform, including shows and films from Amazon and Netflix, as well as apps such as Disney+, and FiiT.

InsuremyVan.ie Sponsors Sky Sports News At 9

Sky Media is delighted to announce that InsuremyVan.ie will sponsor Sky Sports News at 9 from June 20^th. This partnership coincides with the return of the Premier League which is delivering some record-breaking viewing numbers since the restart on June 17^th.

Sky Sports News at 9 is the golden hour scheduled in prime time which gives viewers nightly sporting updates and a round-up of the main sporting stories of the day, including in-depth analysis and comment and interviews with the headline makers. Essential viewing for big sports fans and a great fit with InsuremyVan.ie customers.

Jonathan Hehir, MD, InsuremyVan.ie said:  InsuremyVan.ie is now firmly established as the leading provider of quality, low-cost van insurance in Ireland and at a time when InsuremyVan.ie clients are busy helping rebuild the economy, we’re delighted to take over sponsorship of the Sky Sports News at 9. Our customers are big sports fans and as we approach the climax to a remarkable Premier League season, InsuremyVan.ie will be at the forefront of the most exciting sports news action that is gripping the nation. InsuremyVan.ie is proud to sponsor Sky Sports News at 9.

Malcolm Murray, Sales Director, Sky Media Ireland said: We are delighted that InsuremyVan.ie has signed up to sponsor Sky Sports News at 9. Sky Sports News is the home of breaking sports news, running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is a go to destination for all sport fans. This collaboration showcases how Sky Media can work with Irish advertisers to deliver desired communication goals across our portfolio of channels.

Sky secures a record 25 BAFTA nominations

Sky Original drama Chernobyl tops the list with 14 nominations

Sky has been nominated for a total of 25 BAFTA Television Awards, a record for the broadcaster. This includes 14 nods for Sky Original drama series Chernobyl as the most nominated show this year.  The total includes 17 nominations for British Academy Television Craft Awards and 8 nominations for the British Academy Television Awards, covering a range of Sky’s original and acquired shows including Chernobyl, Catherine The Great and Succession.

Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content, Sky, comments: “We’re delighted with Sky’s record number of nominations for this year’s BAFTA TV awards, including an incredible 14 nominations for our original series Chernobyl. This recognition is a true reflection of the success of our increased investment in original content and the brilliant work of everyone involved in the nominated shows. Whether it’s the terrifying true story of Chernobyl or the magical escapism of Game of Thrones, we are proud to bring our customers more TV that they love.”

The nominations include 19 for Sky’s original productions, 4 for Sky’s acquired series, with further nominations for Sky News for the broadcaster’s coverage of the Hong Kong protests and Sky Sports, for coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup Final. The British Academy Television Awards ceremony will be Friday 31 July on BBC One with the British Academy Television Craft Awards taking place online on Friday 17 July.

 

SKY’S RECORD NUMBER OF BAFTA TV NOMINATIONS

MINI-SERIES

• CHERNOBYL Production Team – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games – HBO/Sky Atlantic

LEADING ACTOR

• JARED HARRIS Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games, HBO/Sky Atlantic

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• STELLAN SKARSGARD Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games, HBO/Sky Atlantic

FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME

• SARAH KENDALL Frayed – Merman Television Ltd, Guesswork Television/Sky One

WRITER: COMEDY

• DANNY BROCKLEHURST Brassic – Calamity Films/Sky 1

WRITER: DRAMA

• CRAIG MAZIN Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic
• JESSE ARMSTRONG Succession HBO Entertainment, Project Zeus, Hyperobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions/Sky Atlantic

COSTUME DESIGN

• MICHELE CLAPTON Game of Thrones – Bighead, Littlehead, Television 360, Startling Television/HBO/Sky Atlantic
• ODILE DICKS-MIREAUX Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

DIRECTOR: FICTION

• JOHAN RENCK Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

EDITING: FICTION

• JINX GODFREY, SIMON SMITH Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

 MAKE UP & HAIR DESIGN

• DANIEL PARKER, BARRIE GOWER Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic
• KIRSTIN CHALMERS Catherine the Great – New Pictures, Origin Pictures/Sky Atlantic

 ORIGINAL MUSIC

• HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR Chernobyl- Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

PHOTOGRAPHY & LIGHTING: FICTION

• JAKOB IHRE Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• LUKE HULL, CLAIRE LEVINSON-GENDLER Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

SCRIPTED CASTING

• NINA GOLD, ROBERT STERNE Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

SOUND: FACTUAL

• SOUND TEAM Battle of the Brass Bands Two Four/Sky Arts

SOUND: FICTION

• SOUND TEAM Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

SPECIAL, VISUAL & GRAPHIC EFFECTS

• LINDSAY MCFARLANE, CLAUDIUS CHRISTIAN RAUCH, JEAN-CLÉMENT SORET, DNEG Chernobyl – Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games/Sky Atlantic

TITLES & GRAPHIC IDENTITY

• ELASTIC Catherine the Great – New Pictures, Origin Pictures/Sky Atlantic

SPORT

• ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP FINAL Production Team – Sky Sports, Sunset+Vine, ICC TV/Sky Sports Cricket

 NEWS COVERAGE

• HONG KONG PROTESTS Production Team – Sky News/Sky News

INTERNATIONAL

• EUPHORIA Sam Levinson, Ravi Nandan, Kevin Turen, Drake – The Reasonable Bunch, A24, Little Lamb, DreamCrew, Tedy Productions, HBO/Sky Atlantic
• SUCCESSION Production Team – HBO Entertainment in association with Project Zeus, Hyperobject Industries and Gary Sanchez Productions/Sky Atlantic

Premium Opportunity With Sky On Demand

It might not be the spring we were expecting, but while we ride out the storm we’ve got some incredible entertainment ready to download straight to your living room…

The Opportunity

Sky On Demand continues to deliver star-studded content and with our ‘Stacked’ proposition there’s no need to wait for the next episode to air – just download and dive in! Check out the showreel above for some of the great shows included…

Which shows can you expect to binge on?

There’s laughs a-plenty from the new Sky original comedy Intelligence starring David Schwimmer.  Enter another dimension with Jordan Peele’s modern re-imagining of The Twilight Zone and immerse yourself in the third series of stylish German noir Babylon Berlin. Also, there’s still time to catch up on enthralling drama from Golden Globe winning The Loudest Voice starring Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts.

If you’re looking for homegrown talent, there’s gritty new drama in Gareth Evans’ Gangs of London and Lenny James reprises his highly anticipated role as Nelly Rowe in Save Me Too. The Brassic gang is back as Sky’s most successful original comedy in years returns for a second series. We also bid adieu as Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon embark on their final helping of gastronomic adventures in The Trip To Greece.

Chernobyl Wins 10 Emmy Awards

Most awarded British series of the year

Sky original drama Chernobyl scooped three Primetime Emmy Awards last night, taking home Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special, and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special.

This follows the show picking up seven awards at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards last week, bringing the grand total to 10, making it the most awarded British series of the year.

Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content, Sky, said: “We are thrilled to see Chernobyl get the recognition it deserves with 10 Emmy wins. The level of detail and passion that went into making this show from everyone involved makes it no surprise that this has been Sky’s most popular original drama ever. With the recent launch of Sky Studios and our increased investment in original content, we will continue telling these unique stories and bringing award winning shows to our viewers.”

It was a record breaking night for Sky, with a total of 34 Emmy Awards going to Sky shows throughout the evening. Other shows winning awards included Game of Thrones, Succession, Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live from Liverpool, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Barry, The Simpsons and The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2019.

 

Doubling our investment in original productions

Sky has announced plans for Sky Studios, a new Europe-wide development and production capability.

With the backing of new owners Comcast, under the Sky Studios plan Sky’s investment in originals will more than double from the current level over the next five years.

The announcement comes after the recent smash hit success of Chernobyl, which has been the most successful Sky original production ever, a record number of BAFTA winners for Sky, as well as several other European successes such as Das Boot and Gomorrah.

Sky’s increasing success with original productions, coupled with the ability to partner with NBC and Universal, puts Sky in a strong position to extend its leadership in this increasingly global, profitable, and strategically important area.

Sky Studios will create new productions for Sky channels, NBC Broadcast and cable, and Universal Pictures as well as for other distribution outlets.

Jeremy Darroch, Group CEO, said: “This is a transformational development for us. Sky Studios will drive our vision to be the leading force in European content development and production. Our ambition is to make Sky Studios famous for quality content and a place where Europe’s top creatives will want to do their best work.

“Being part of Comcast enables us to increase our investment and to maximise the advantage and leverage of the Sky Group and our partners, NBCUniversal. This is a clear signal of Comcast’s belief in our commitment to producing the best original content in Europe.”

Sky Studios will produce and develop original content across all genres, with a focus on drama and comedy. With the emphasis firmly on quality, Sky Studios plans to double the amount of originals currently produced by Sky. It will work in close collaboration with local Sky leadership teams.

Production will begin next month on Sky Studios’ first international project, a six-part drama called The Third Day, a co-production with HBO and starring Jude Law.

Sky Studios will be led by Gary Davey, CEO, who is currently Sky UK’s Managing Director of Content.

Gary Davey, CEO Sky Studios, said: “This exciting new venture is perfectly timed to meet the growing content demands of our customers. We look forward to working with the whole creative community, from individual creators to the big independent producers to produce more of the original content our customers love.”