Sky acquires Parthenon

UK pay TV operator BSkyB is establishing a new distribution arm to market the international rights to its originated content. As part of the move, Sky has completed the acquisition of international distribution company Parthenon Media Group.

Sky said the creation of a distribution capability would help to accelerate its plans for international rights management.

The new in-house model will help generate additional revenues from Sky’s content investment from the sale of overseas rights, which will enable it to reinvest more in the UK’s creative economy, the operator said.

Sky has invested more than £450 million (€574 million) in British commissioning and production this year. This is set to increase to £600 million a year by 2014, with most of the growth set to come in genres such as drama, comedy, entertainment, arts and factual.

The current Parthenon team, led by founder and CEO, Carl Hall, will lead the new function within Sky, reporting to Sophie Turner Laing, Sky’s managing director of entertainment, news and broadcast operations.

Turner Laing, said: “As we continue to increase investment in UK production, this is a natural step in the evolution of Sky’s content business. We are producing world class television – innovative, creatively ambitious and, in many cases, on an epic scale. It’s only right that we match this with world class aspirations for how we take this content to as wide an international audience as possible.”