Sky e Warner Bros. and Discovery renew their alliance in Italy and reopen the pay TV and streaming market. The new agreement between the two groups brings a wide range of channels back to the Sky offering, on-demand content, cinema and digital services, restoring a long-standing partnership at a time when competition between platforms is increasingly based on the richness of their catalogues and ease of access for subscribers.
They return from April 30th in the Sky lineup ten channels from the Warner Bros. Discovery group. Nove, Discovery, Real Time, Dmax, Giallo, Food Network, Hgtv, Discovery Turbo, K2 and Frisbee are once again available on Sky Q, My Sky, Sky Stream and Sky Glass. In addition to these are added the kids' channels Cartoon Network and Boomerang and the international news of CNN International, completing an offering that aims to reach different audiences, from general entertainment to documentaries, from lifestyle to children's content.
Cinema, blockbusters and classics for Sky and Now
The most important part of the agreement concerns WB's film catalog.Sky Cinema and Now will be enriched with a wide selection of Warner Bros. films, including first-run releases, recent blockbusters, and cult titles from the library. This significant enhancement brings a series of highly sought-after content to the Sky catalog, capable of increasing the platform's competitive edge in the Italian market.
Among the first exclusive visions appear Spring, with Tecla Insolia nominated as best leading actress at the David di Donatello awards, and Idols, with Claudio Santamaria. From 2027, titles such as One battle after another, winner at this year's Oscars, the new Superman of the DC Universe, Weapons and Wuthering Heights.
The Warner Bros. library will bring hits like Barbie, Dune, and Elvis to the package, alongside classics like Gone with the Wind, Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. There will also be room for The Dark Knight trilogy and Christopher Nolan's Inception, as well as romantic cult classics, family films, and epics like Troy and The Last Samurai.
Instead, stay outside the perimeter of the HBO Max agreement, the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service that arrived in Italy this year and has a separate offering, also focusing on exclusive HBO series.
discovery+ returns from the Sky remote control
The agreement extends beyond linear channels and cinema. Starting May 14th. The discovery+ app will be available again on Sky Q, Sky Stream, and Sky Glass. Existing Sky Discovery+ subscribers, or those who decide to sign up for the service, will be able to access the app directly via their Sky remote control.
The platform will offer discovery+ Originals content and Eurosport's sports offerings. Events include Roland Garros tennis, cycling with the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and La Vuelta, winter sports, motorsports with Le Mans and Formula E, and golf with the PGA Tour.
"We are very satisfied with the new agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, which renews a long-standing collaboration between the two groups. This new partnership helps make our offering even more complete, also thanks to the return of the WBD group's channels and the discovery+ app to Sky. Subscribers will thus be able to continue to enjoy a wide selection of Warner Bros. films and easily and directly access a wide range of high-quality content that is highly appreciated by our audience,” commented Mr. Andrea Duilio, CEO of Sky Italia.
Alessandro AraimoWarner Bros. Discovery Southern Europe CEO, added: “We are delighted that the renewal of this important partnership will make Warner Bros. Discovery's linear entertainment channels, a selection of Warner Bros.' extraordinary cinema catalogue, and the option to subscribe to discovery+ available to Sky subscribers. These are all valuable assets on the market and have always been a highly appreciated offering.”
An industrial move in the streaming challenge
The renewal between Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery comes at a time when the digital entertainment market is increasingly crowded, expensive and fragmented. Platforms no longer compete only on price or number of subscribers, but on ability to build complete ecosystems, where linear channels, apps, movies, sports and on-demand content coexist in a simple way for the user.
For Sky, the return of the Warner Bros. Discovery channels and the discovery+ app strengthens its editorial offering and expands the depth of its catalog. For Warner Bros. Discovery, the agreement ensures new distribution within a central platform in the Italian market. The result is an agreement that not only brings some channels back to the remote control, but also strengthens the scope of its premium offering in Italy, in a game where content remains the key driver.
In the background, there remains the major corporate game of Warner Bros. Discovery. After Netflix's attempt, which had put an offer on the table for the group's studios and streaming assets, the game has reopened with the relaunch of Paramount Skydance, which then resulted in a $110 billion deal for the'acquisition of all Warner Bros. Discovery. The The group's shareholders approved the transaction, but the closing remains subject to the approval of regulatory authorities, particularly in the United States and Europe.
