Advanced Television

Sky steps up commitment to the arts

May 27, 2015

This summer, Sky will launch a major initiative to bring the best of the arts to its 21 million customers across Italy, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the UK. The broad commitment by the company is one of the first major international content initiatives since the creation of the new Sky in November 2014. It signals the production of even more arts programming, the launch of a new on demand service and the extension of Sky Arts to entirely new international audiences.

The new initiative will be anchored by the launch of the Sky Arts Production Hub, a commissioning and production centre based in Milan, dedicated to creating arts programming for Sky customers across Europe. The Sky Arts Production Hub will focus on producing pan-European events that will unite international audiences in a unique celebration of the arts. The Hub will also produce a wide slate of outstanding arts programming for customers across all Sky territories in addition to content commissioned locally.

As its inaugural pan-European arts event, Sky will launch Sky Arts Photographer of the Year in 2016. Opening for entries later this year, the competition will bid to find the best amateur photographer in Europe, spanning all forms of the medium. It will be judged by a jury comprised of some of the leading lights from the world of photography , and will offer the biggest prize of any photography competition in Europe.

Alongside this, Sky Arts in the UK and Ireland will undergo a major re-launch, offering customers a comprehensive on demand catalogue of arts programming with over 1,000 hours of content available at launch including programmes commissioned and acquired exclusively for on demand viewing. In addition, the Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 channels will merge to create a single channel, offering the best of all genres of the arts, with a 10 per cent increase in its programming investment. The new Sky Arts will launch on June 9th.

Already launched as Sky Arte in Italy at the end of 2012, Sky Arts will also be coming to Germany and Austria to bring the best of the arts to an even wider audience.

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