“We̵7;re sending a message that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to watch our content,” said the fledgling streamer’s CEO. skyshowtimewho supported david zaslavrecent suggestion of Rival streamers should bundle together,
monty sirhan took over the reins of Comcast,Paramount Global The JV oversaw the recruitment of 180 staff across seven offices over the past year and since, a rollout to more than 20 European territories in which Comcast’s Peacock and Now TV, and Paramount+ do not exist, and the commissioning of several original series.
talking to deadlines before a NEM In a keynote speech in Dubrovnik, he said that Skyshowtime’s pricing structure was forged in response to “double-digit inflation, with the cost-of-living crisis and the war in Ukraine”.
Monty Sirhan: “A key way we create value is through bundling”
“We’re leaning into a consumer value proposition that puts consumers at the forefront, and we launched at a lower price point than our competitors,” Sirhan said. “We’re sending a message that our content doesn’t have to cost a fortune to be seen.”
SkyShowtime is now available in the likes of the Nordics, Portugal, Spain and Poland for between €3.99 ($4.30) and €6.99 ($7.50) per month depending on the region. According to the CEO, the streamer is “ahead of our suboptimal estimates in all markets”.
he supported warner bros discovery (WBD) boss Zaslav’s recent suggestion that rival services will need to bundle together to survive, using Skyshowtime — which combines the strengths of the two legacy Hollywood studios’ back catalogs — as an example.
“One of the key ways we can create value is through bundling,” said Sirhan, a former Comcast SVP of content acquisition.
“Two of our shareholders have done exactly that. Streaming as an industry is only 15 years old and a lot of the business models that have existed as part of the TV industry for decades remain important.
Sirhan spoke to Deadline several weeks later the unveiling A hefty original slate at Cannes, including Finnish-Swedish crime series Codename: Annika, from Spain las invisibles and poland Warszawianka.
While Sirhan has been open about where the originals are sourced, so far half have been greenlit in Spain, and he added that “it’s been easier to scale up the programming”. [in Spain] Spanish studios produce more content than in other markets.
The slate “shows a commitment to ‘local’ that other streamers are not making,” said Sirhan, who added that competitors are “pulling back in terms of what they’re producing and investing in these markets.” “
Many Skyshowtime originals came through a deal with HBO Max, which Commissioning pulled Last year from most European territories and removed the original from its platform. skyshowtime choose from 21 shows including Norway once their HBO licensing window had passed ex foreigner, Swedish Lust and of Denmark Kamikaze.
Sirhan said he would be happy to explore more of these deals but the biggest value proposition for SkyShowtime is the acquisition as well as the Comcast/Paramount library. While not disclosing the viewing figures, he cited the likes of yellowstone And tulsa king As big actors on stage.
“We have a great content pipeline because of our shareholders and this puts us in a good position against the competition,” he added.
Skyshowtime has also acquired the likes of Rian Johnson. poker face and the upcoming Emma Stone comedy curseWhich are being badged as SkyShowtime Originals.
Sirhan said a strong pipeline of European programs put Skyshowtime in a “good position to weather the storm”.
He rejected the notion that the strike would negatively affect Skyshowtime in a significant way and instead supported the WBD CEE chief. Jamie Cook claims that the disruption “created opportunities” for writers and producers in Europe.
Sirhan’s long-term desire is for Skyshowtime to be among the top three streamers in each of its 22 markets and he reflected on the storm over a few months in which streamers rolled into one territory per week.
“One market per week helped explain how fast we were launching,” he said. “I came here and really had to build a team from scratch and we’ve grown at a remarkably fast rate.”
NEM kicks off later today and features executives from Movistar, WBD, Sony and All3Media International, as well as keynote speakers. x files EP Frank Spotnitz, Who said The “erosion of writers’ power in America” could serve as a “learning opportunity” for European storytellers.