Sky TV prospects might lose Animal Planet, Eurosport and 11 extra channels subsequent month | The Impartial

A fierce dispute between Sky and Discovery Communications might finish with Sky TV prospects shedding entry to 13 channels subsequent month.

Negotiations over cash have damaged down, with Discovery, which is behind Eurosport, Animal Planet and Quest, claiming that Sky is refusing to pay it “a good value”.

It has responded by threatening to tug its complete portfolio of 13 channels from the service, and is utilizing the hashtag #KeepDiscovery to convey consideration to the dispute.

Sky says the next channels might disappear from its service on 1 February:

“We consider Sky is utilizing what we take into account to be its dominant market place to additional its personal industrial curiosity over these of viewers and unbiased broadcasters,” mentioned Susanna Dinnage, Discovery’s UK MD. “The vitality of unbiased broadcasters like Discovery and plurality in TV is underneath risk.”

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Discovery claims Sky is paying much less for its channels now than it did a decade in the past, including that its share of viewing on Sky has grown by greater than 20%.

Sky, in the meantime, is holding its floor, claiming that Discovery has suffered a 17% decline in viewing share since 2013.

“Regardless of our greatest efforts to succeed in a wise settlement, we, like many different platforms and broadcasters throughout Europe, have discovered the worth expectations for the Discovery portfolio to be fully unrealistic,” mentioned a Sky spokesperson. “Discovery’s portfolio of channels consists of many that are linear-only the place viewing is falling.

“Sky has a robust observe document of understanding the worth of the content material we purchase on behalf of our prospects, and consequently we have taken the choice to not renew this contract on the phrases supplied.

“We now have been overpaying Discovery for years and should not going to anymore. We are going to now transfer to redeploy the identical amount of cash into content material we all know our prospects worth.”

The businesses have till 31 January to succeed in an settlement.