From
Digital Spy
Sky is reportedly close to agreeing more exclusive content deals with US studios, following last week's
high-profile agreement with HBO.
Under the HBO deal, the satellite broadcaster will get exclusive UK rights to all new HBO programmes, along with video on-demand access to archive shows such as
The Wire,
Sex And The City and
Curb Your Enthusiasm.
According to
The Guardian, sources in Los Angeles claim that Sky is close to agreeing similar deals with other US networks Showtime and AMC.
If the deals materialise then shows such as
Mad Men,
Breaking Bad,
Dexter and upcoming zombie epic
The Walking Dead would be exclusive to Sky for five years, making them unavailable to terrestrial broadcasters.
Sky is thought to be planning to bundle the programming - along with content from the FX channel - into a premium package aimed at attracting more subscribers to its digital TV platform.
The strategy is also aimed at weakening Sky's main pay-TV competitors, BT and Virgin Media, by denying them access to premium US shows.
An insider said that even viewers unmoved by premium sport or movies could be attracted to Sky at the prospect of high quality entertainment box-sets, which would reduce BT and Virgin Media to "telephony providers".
