Sky is to launch its streaming service Now TV into the Spanish market, the first territory where it doesn’t have a satellite operation.
Now TV launched in the UK in July 2012 and versions have subsequently been rolled out in Germany and most recently Italy. It runs on a streaming box produced by Roku, in which Sky holds a small stake.
However, while the box may be a ringer for what can be purchased in the UK market, the pay-as-you-go service is likely to be missing many of the channels that can be streamed in the UK.
Maria Aguete, a senior analyst for IHS, said based on the company’s forecasts for Netflix in Spain, any such service could make headway. “It makes strategic sense for the strongest pay-TV operators to expand outside of their legacy market footprint by going ‘over the top’ of incumbent service providers in new markets. That said, commercial success in a new market like Spain is far from guaranteed. Local players are certain to leverage multi-play price bundling and local content rights to make life difficult for new entrants.”
However, with Amazon Prime also looking at a Spanish launch, Aguete said was uncertain how many SVOD services the market could support, given the low pay-TV penetration in the country.
Broadband TV News has contacted Sky for comment.
