Sky has concluded a last-minute agreement to maintain the rights to Discovery’s 12-channel portfolio.
Discovery, which has spent £1 billion to acquire pan-European rights to the Olympics, threatened to switch off its Sky channels at midnight last night if an renewal agreement was not reached.
The news ends a bitter dispute between the two firms, with Discovery’s portfolio now set to remain available to Sky and Now TV customers for “years to come”.
Susanna Dinnage, managing director, Discovery Networks UK, said: “We want to thank our millions of viewers and fans for their overwhelming support over the last few days. We have been humbled by the strength of the passion people feel for all our brands.
“We have reached a new agreement that guarantees Sky’s customers access to Discovery’s wide range of channels and programmes for years to come. Our fans’ voices were heard loud and clear. They want choice and great TV and I cannot stress how much we love them for their support.”
Discovery’s UK portfolio includes the Discovery Channel, Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Discovery History, Discovery Shed, Home and Health, DMAX, Discovery Science and Discovery Turbo.
The agreement also includes Discovery’s four pay-TV channels in Germany: Discovery Channel, Eurosport 1 HD, Eurosport 2 HD and Eurosport 360 HD.
Susanne Aigner-Drews, general manager, Discovery Networks Germany, added, “We are grateful to our fans in Germany. Thank you for all your support. We have been in a business relationship with Sky for 20 years and we are glad that will continue.”
