HBO & Sky in $250 Million Drama Pact

HBO and Sky have joined forces to oversee a development slate of drama series, with plans to invest $250 million.

The focus of the multiyear arrangement will be on high-end productions that feature engaging stories with international points of view and casting. A panel of executives from both outfits will be responsible for greenlighting the projects. The partnership will be open to pitches from across the creative community, in both the U.S. and Europe, and is looking for ideas consistent with the content strategies of HBO in North America and the Sky Atlantic brand in Europe.

Within two years, the partnership plans to reach a consistent output, greenlighting at least two drama projects per year with the first project coming to screens in 2018.

The chairman and CEO of HBO, Richard Plepler, said, “Sky has been a great partner for us and this deal allows even deeper collaboration between our two great companies, which have a long tradition in creating superior content for our customers. Together we represent the best in television and combined we will raise the bar even higher in pay TV programming.”

Jeremy Darroch, the group CEO of Sky, added, “HBO and Sky have for many years shared a common creative culture and a common vision for the development of high-quality drama.  This new venture deepens that relationship, maintains our leadership position in world-class content, provides great opportunities for indies and gives our customers even more opportunity to enjoy brilliant storytelling.”