Comcast Corporation and ViacomCBS have announced that SkyShowtime, their new streaming joint venture, has received full regulatory approval and plans to launch in more than 20 European markets encompassing 90 million homes starting later this year.
"We are pleased that SkyShowtime has received all regulatory approvals and are excited to bring this new, unique and compelling entertainment service – with a broad range of some of the world's leading content – to millions of consumers across these markets," says Monty Sarhan, chief executive officer, SkyShowtime.
Sarhan was named SkyShowtime chief executive officer earlier this year. A veteran of both Comcast and ViacomCBS, Sarhan also spent over a decade at the subscription television service EPIX. As executive vice president and general manager of EPIX, he secured full national distribution with MVPDs. He launched EPIX's direct-to-consumer service, leading the company through its fastest period of revenue growth and more than doubling subscribers.
SkyShowtime will ultimately be available in the following markets: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
SkyShowtime's offerings will span 10,000 hours of content across all genres and audience categories, including scripted dramas, kids and family, key franchises, premiere movies, local programming, documentaries/factual content and more.
Further details on SkyShowtime, including pricing, will be announced later.