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Sky Showtime to launch in more European countries

The West London office of Comcast and Paramount Global's joint venture Sky Showtime.
The West London office of Comcast and Paramount Global’s joint venture Sky Showtime. (Image via LinkedIn, Graphic by the Desk)

Comcast and Paramount Global’s joint venture Sky Showtime will debut in more European countries next month, executives confirmed this weekend.

Sky Showtime will debut in Central and Eastern European countries on December 14, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Kosovo and Montenegro.

Next February, the service will further expand to a number of other countries, including the Czech Republic, Poland, North Macedonia, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

“Sky Showtime was created for Europe, and we are thrilled to tell customers across Central & Eastern Europe that it’s almost time for Sky Showtime,” Monty Sarhan, the chief executive of the venture, said in a statement. “We are excited to bring them exclusive access to the latest series and movies from our iconic and world-renowned studios, as well as a premium line-up of quality local entertainment.”

The cost of Sky Showtime was not immediately available, but the service has been priced aggressively in the markets where it is offered, with streamers paying between $5 and $10 a month in local currency.

Sky Showtime was announced as a joint venture between Comcast and Paramount Global last year. The service runs on the same tech platform that powers Comcast’s domestic service, Peacock. It includes films and televisions shows from Peacock and Comcast’s NBC Universal, as well as titles from Paramount Global’s Showtime, MTV Networks, CBS, Paramount Pictures and Paramount Plus properties.

Shows that are offered on Sky Showtime include “Yellowstone,” “Dexter,” “The Office,” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and “Halo.” Films that are set to stream on Sky Showtime include “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Ambulance” and “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

The service began rolling out to some European countries in September, first in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In late October, Sky Showtime launched in the Netherlands and Portugal.

“After successful launches across North Europe and Portugal, expanding into these important markets and bringing Sky Showtime to even more people across Europe is an important milestone for us,” Sarhan said.

Sky Showtime is primarily rolling out in countries where Comcast’s Sky satellite service does not have a presence. In the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Comcast and Paramount Global have either launched or have plans to launch variants of Peacock and Paramount Plus.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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