Sky Deutschland strikes long-term deal with Liberty Global cable units

Sky Deutschland has struck a deal with Liberty Global-owned Unitymedia and Kabel BW to distribute HD channels on the cable platforms and allow Sky subscribers via cable to sign up via the cable operators rather than Sky itself.

Under the new deal, the cable operators will be able to offer an enlarged Sky HD offering, including football, sport, film and entertainment channels. The new channels will launch on cable from the end of May, taking the number of Sky HD channels available on Unitymedia to five, including Sky Atlantic HD, Sky Sports HD, Sky Sports 2 HD, Sky News HD and Sky Cinema HD.

Other channels will follow in the months to come, taking the total to 15 Sky HD channels on Unitymedia and 18 on Kabel BW.

Sky will cooperate with the cable operators in marketing the channels and subscribers will be able to sign up via the cable operator rather than with Sky direct.