BRITISH BROADCASTERS Sky have entered into a multiyear deal with the television production company Home Box Office (HBO), which will bring popular American programmes to Irish homes later this year.
The full range of HBO programming will only be available to Sky customers. A spokeswoman for Sky said HBO programming would be available on the broadcaster’s ordinary television channels and no extra cost would be included.
The first HBO programme due to be broadcast on Sky is Boardwalk Empire, a Prohibition-era drama from Martin Scorsese. The show makes its US debut in September, with a UK and Ireland premiere due to follow shortly after.
HBO has developed a reputation for critically acclaimed programming, having previously produced series including The Wire, The Sopranosand Sex and the City.
Under the agreement, all new HBO programmes and series will be broadcast exclusively by Sky, who will also have right of first negotiation for all future programmes that are co-produced in the UK.
Sophie Turner Laing, managing director for entertainment, news and broadcast operations at Sky, said there is a demand for HBO programming because it produces "must-see TV". Sky recently broadcast two of HBO's most popular series of the year, the second World War epic The Pacificfrom Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, and the award-winning drama In Treatment, which returns shortly for a second season.