Sky Agree Contract to Bring Sky Movies to the BT Broadband TV Service

Customers of BT’s broadband TV (IPTV) service will shortly gain access to the popular Sky Movies channels from BSkyB. The telecoms and broadcasting giants have agreed to a new multi-year contract that will begin from 26th October 2013.

The move, which appears to set aside some of the previous competition concerns between the two operators, means that BT TV customers will now have the bolt-on option of paying an additional monthly subscription in order to receive 11 of Sky’s famous movie channels.

The content, which will be available to both BT’s YouView and Vision+ based set-top-box platforms, includes Sky Movies Premiere, Sky Movies Showcase, Sky Movies Greats, Sky Movies Disney, Sky Movies Family, Sky Movies Action & Adventure, Sky Movies Comedy, Sky Movies Crime & Thriller, Sky Movies Drama & Romance, Sky Movies Sci Fi & Horror and Sky Movies Select.

Alex Green, Director of BT TV, said:

“We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Sky to enable our TV customers to enjoy Sky Movies and its superb offering of films for every taste, including the latest blockbusters. We believe this gives a tremendous boost to our BT TV film offering.”

Rob Webster, Director of Sky’s Commercial Group, adds:

“We are pleased to extend the distribution of Sky Movies to BT TV customers. Following the conclusion of commercial negotiations, BT’s customers can now enjoy access to the UK’s most popular subscription movies service. In helping even more UK homes enjoy Sky Movies this agreement also supports our wholesale content business.”

Sadly no pricing information was included and we also note that the deal only mentions Standard Definition (not HD) video quality. The service will be both streamed live and offered on-demand for those with the superfast BTInfinity “fibre broadband” packages, although customers on older and slower copper broadband (ADSL2+) connections will only be able to receive it on-demand.