Sky Italia Extends Deals for X Factor & Got Talent

Sky Italia has signed deal extensions with Fremantle Italy and Syco Entertainment for more seasons of The X Factor and Italia’s Got Talent.

Through the agreement, Sky Italia will remain the exclusive home of The X Factor in Italy for four more seasons, while Italia’s Got Talent will remain with the network for at least two additional years. Both entertainment series are among Italy’s most successful international formats and flagship shows for Sky Uno and TV8, respectively. Sky Uno will launch the new season of The X Factor in September. Italia’s Got Talent concludes its current season with its live finale on March 22, on TV8, where it will continue to air.

Syco Entertainment’s Simon Cowell said: “Sky Italia are incredible partners. They are fearless and constantly prepared to reinvent themselves. Most importantly, they totally believe in these shows. Some of the biggest recording artists in Italy have been discovered by The X Factor Italia, and it remains one of my favorite international productions. Alongside our partners Fremantle and Sony Music, I am thrilled to continue working with this team, and I look forward to seeing where they take The X Factor and Got Talent next.”

Nils Hartmann, director of Sky Italia Original Productions, added: “We are delighted to announce that the extraordinary journey that led to the results we have achieved so far with The X Factor and Italia’s Got Talent will continue thanks to the renewal agreement with Fremantle Italy and Syco Entertainment. The work done in recent years has had, and will continue to have, two pivot points, courage and talent. The courage of an entertainment show that has been able to go beyond pure entertainment and scouting of talents, becoming the mirror of our ‘Zeitgeist’—bringing together generations and genres and transforming itself into a booster of consciousness and awareness—alongside the courage to dare to strive for perfection and adopting new production and creative standards to stage world-class shows. And the talent, the vital element we look for and nurture not only on stage—enhancing and supporting some of the best talents out there—but also behind the scenes, with real creative and technical excellence thanks to whom these shows marked a new course in entertainment. For all these reasons, we are excited to be able to continue this journey and to offer our audience unique, exciting and high-quality shows.”

Gabriele Immirzi, Fremantle Italy’s COO, commented: “Fremantle Italy is very happy to renew its partnership with Sky for The X Factor and Italia’s Got Talent. This agreement is an important acknowledgment of the quality of the work our creative and production teams have done, and once again shows the foresight of a publisher that allows us to plan activities over a long period, contributing in a decisive way to creating high-quality formats. We are already working with Sky to offer once again to our audience exciting and engaging shows able to renew themselves constantly, season after season.”