HBO "thinking about" future relationship with Sky

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 5h

WarnerMedia's chief executive reveals that he is giving thought to whether HBO will extend its exclusive arrangement with Sky beyond 2025.

WarnerMedia chief executive Jason Kilar has admitted that he is contemplating the future of HBO's relationship with Sky.

In 2010 the two companies inked an agreement that would lead to Sky becoming the exclusive home to almost all HBO content in the European markets where it operates - currently the UK and Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy.

As a result Sky launched the Sky Atlantic channel as a home for premium content and in recent years has aired shows such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and Westworld.

The most recent extension to that agreement is due to expire in 2025, and in an interview with the Financial Times, Kilar revealed that he is "spending a lot of time thinking about what happens" beyond that point.

WarnerMedia has launched the premium streaming service HBO Max in the US but it will not be launched in Sky's European territories while the exclusive agreement is in place, although Kilar conceded that "there is tremendous opportunity for us to have HBO Max in the UK, Germany and other markets".

In recent years Sky has become less dependent on HBO programming to fill Sky Atlantic - as well as the recently-launched Sky Comedy and Sky Documentaries channels - by signing deals with other content providers and investing heavily in original content.