Sky inks a deal with Sony Pictures for exclusive movie content

BRITISH BROADCASTER Sky announced a deal with Sony Pictures today that will give its customers exclusive access to the studio's movie catalogue six months after they hit the cinema screen.

Sky announced the deal today along with its second fiscal quarter viewing figures, which revealed that customers who have activated the firm's On Demand services through their Sky+ HD box increased by 70 percent in six months to 1.7 million.

What might have sold Japanese entertainment firm Sony on the deal, however, is that in the last quarter the British broadcaster's total movie downloads across all its services doubled year on year to 30 million.

The partnership will also allow Sky Movies customers to gain access to Sony Pictures' back catalogue of films, which are becoming available on its internet TV service Now TV, if they subscribe to a Sky Movies monthly pass, that is.

Other figures posted by Sky today revealed that the pay TV broadcaster added 50,000 new customers over the second quarter, of which 25,000 joined Now TV.

Sky said it is also planning to introduce Sky Sports to Now TV later this year, offering all six Sky Sports channels to the service for £9.99 a month. µ