SkyShowtime CEO Monty Sarhan insists Europe’s streaming market still has room for “plenty of growth” as the joint venture streaming platform between Comcast and Paramount Global launches in 22 territories across the continent.
“If you look at the number of subscriptions per household and hours consumed, they’re all on the rise,” says Sarhan, comparing Europe to the US’s ‘mature’ streaming market. “It’s very early days. So, we think we’re well positioned. We think that there’s a lot of growth. Streaming as an industry has only been around for about 15 years. So this is going to continue to grow.”
SkyShowtime is arriving into a crowded European streaming market, where services such as Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+ Prime Video are already well established. Highlighting the challenges facing streamers, Lionsgate announced this week that it is pulling its streamer Lionsgate+ from a number of European countries.
But Sarhan is bullish about SkyShowtime’s prospects, pointing out that it will carry over 30 new theatrical releases a year from Universal and Paramount. “These are the two oldest studios in Hollywood. And this year, they’re the two most successful studios - over 50% of Hollywood box office is coming from those two studios,” he said, citing the success of Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru.
“All of those movies will be coming exclusively to Sky Showtime in our markets. That is a tremendous consumer value proposition. That’s a lot of box office to have on the screen.”
SkyShowtime will also offer upcoming series such as Sylvester Stallone-starrerTulsa King, Patricia Highsmith adaptation Ripley and Yellowstone origin story 1923, as wellas content from Nickelodeon, DreamWorks Animation, Sky Studios, and US streamers Paramount+, Showtime, and Peacock.
A place in the market
Based in London, Sarhan knows both Comcast and Paramount Global well. A lawyer by training, he joined SkyShowtime from Comcast Cable where he was senior VP, content acquisition. He previously worked at ViacomCBS (which rebranded as Paramount earlier this year) as part of the launch team of Epix, which began life as a joint venture with MGM and Lionsgate. At Epix, he was executive VP and general manager.
Sarhan defined SkyShowtime’s offer to European consumers as “focused on quality over quantity” but with a “breadth and depth of content that really appeals to everyone in the household. There’s something there for kids, and there’s something there for adults. We view the service as having really broad appeal.”
Notably, the price of the service is highly competitive compared to other streamers, retailing for €6.99 in Finland, for example. “We very deliberately made sure that we had pricing that was responsive to what was going on in the world, Sarhan said, citing the cost of living crisis and high inflation in Europe. “We are priced below Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+. That’s very deliberate. We don’t think that great entertainment needs to cost a fortune. Our value proposition is about having great content at a great price.”
The executive wouldn’t be drawn on target numbers for the streaming service though. “We don’t talk about subscriber numbers or projections. I will say this - streaming is only growing in our markets. We’re extremely excited about the opportunity.”
He insists SkyShowtime has already performed well in the six markets - Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and Portugal - where it has recently launched: “We’re extremely excited about the performance to date. And I will say that we’ve exceeded our expectations and blown through our projections.”
SkyShowtime will continue its roll out across Spain, Andorra, and Central and Eastern Europe through the first quarter of 2023.
Notably, SkyShowtime is not launching in territories where Paramount Global streaming service Paramount+ or Comcast’s Peacock platform are present, such as the UK, France, Germany and Italy.
European focus
SkyShowtime has come quickly to market given that Comcast and Paramount Global only received regulatory approval to launch the service back in February. Some 115 staff are working for the platform, which has offices in six European countries.
Sarhan says that SkyShowtime benefits from being able to base itself on the technology that runs Comcast’s Peacock platform. “It’s one of the most scalable and stable platforms - they had the Olympics and the Super Bowl on the same night in the United States. So, we benefit from a globally tested and proven platform to build off.”
He stressed that SkyShowtime is not a “a flyover service,” but has been created specially for Europe.
But what about original local programming, which has been a big driver of success for platforms like Netflix internationally? Sarhan says SkyShowtime is “still building out” its programming team and working out its original programming strategy for each territory. “Original programming is extremely important - how we execute on that, and in which markets, we’ve we haven’t determined yet,” says Sarhan.
“For originals, early on, we’re going to be opportunistic: there are going to be shows that we acquire, there are going to be co-productions, and then to develop shows takes a little bit longer. And so there will be things that will be in the development pipeline. I think it’s going to be a mix.”
The plan is to focus SkyShowtime on local audiences, says Sarhan. “These markets are so different – and the key is to be authentic.” SkyShowtime will be available in 18 different languages, offering subtitles or dubbed content throughout the region.
Ultimately, it will be offered in 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.
Reflecting on the ten-month journey since regulatory approval to launch, Sarhan says that it has been important to stagger the service’s launch across the continent. SkyShowtime debuted in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden on September 20, and in the Netherlands and Portugal on October 25.
“There’s a reason why these launches are staggered. You only get to launch once. And so we want to do it right for every single market.”
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