Key Points
- Comcast’s Sky will bundle ad-supported Disney Plus, HBO Max and later Hayu with select pay TV plans at no extra cost, with Netflix included on top-tier packages.
- The move expands streaming integration for U.K. viewers, coinciding with HBO Max’s March launch in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
- Sky also secured a new long-term deal with Warner Bros Discovery to continue airing select HBO series on Sky Atlantic.
Comcast’s pay television service Sky is refreshing its traditional TV plans to include access to four premium streaming services at no extra cost.
Starting next month, new customers of Sky’s satellite or streaming TV services with eligible plans will have complementary access to the ad-supported plans of Disney Plus and HBO Max. Access to the reality-focused app Hayu is coming later this summer.
Customers with Sky Entertainment, Sky Signature or Sky Ultimate packages will get access to all three apps, while those with Sky Ultimate will also have access to Netflix, the company said.
Sky touted the bundling of streaming apps and linear TV service as a “world-first,” though stateside TV providers like DIRECTV and Charter’s Spectrum TV have offered access to network-owned streaming apps with linear TV networks for more than a year. Canal Plus in France also includes some streaming apps with certain pay TV plans.
Still, the inclusion of three to four premium streaming apps within a single pay TV plan is a first for most British TV viewers, who have typically been forced to pay for Disney Plus and Hayu separate from their TV plan. HBO Max is launching in the United Kingdom and Ireland in March.
“This marks a new era for Sky and NOW. In a world-first, we’re bringing together Sky, Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and Hayu into a single Sky TV subscription,” Sophia Ahmad, the Chief Consumer Officer at Sky, said in a statement. “Nowhere else offers this breadth of incredible entertainment in a fully integrated experience, with everything customers love watching side by side, so viewers can jump from show to show with ease.”
Separately, Sky said it reached a new long-term deal with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) to continue offering some premium series on its linear channel Sky Atlantic. The channel will air repeat and new episodes of “Euphoria,” “House of the Dragon” and “The White Lotus,” which will also be available on HBO Max and accessible to Sky subscribers with eligible TV packages, the company said.
