15-03-2023, 11:33 PM
(15-03-2023, 02:22 PM)ASnep Wrote: There are roumours Comcast only bought Sky Italy and Germany because they had to to get Sky UK.
I don't think they were rumours - I think it's pretty widely acknowledged that by the time Comcast bought Sky, it was essentially one entity across Europe. It's only been very recently that Comcast have started to sort-of 'decouple' the continental arms.
(15-03-2023, 02:22 PM)ASnep Wrote: In Germany especially Pay TV had always had it harder than in the UK. While in the early 90s in the UK you had to get Sky (or cable) to get really anything more than the 4 terrestrial channels, in Germany you already could get quite few channels FTA on satellite or via cable (wich often is included in the rent). So the only real pull Premiere/Sky had was sport, specifically football (Bundesliga, Champions League etc.).
There is talk of Canal+ expanding into Germany (they already operate in Austria, where they now hold the Champions League rights) and bidding for the Bundesliga rights. They were reported to be interested in buying Sky Deutschland but that doesn't seem to have led anywhere.