Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch has given his strongest indication yet that he will remain at Sky in the wake of Comcast’s takeover of the broadcaster and television distributor.
“I intend to stick around, and I look forward to leading Sky into the future,” said Darroch in a conference call hosted by the new owners.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said he was “delighted that Jeremy and many of the senior team” and his senior colleagues had agreed to stay on following the acquisition. He contrasted the acquisition with the acquisition of NBC Universal where a number of management changes were made.
Also on the call, Roberts said he thought Sky to have been “mispriced”, amid regulatory uncertainly and a change in sports rights and competitive opportunities. “Disney bid 10% less and that was exactly the amount that we bid less than we did on Fox. These are super desirable assets that when put together with a company like Comcast and the fit makes us stronger.”
Roberts praised Rupert Murdoch for recognising that television was to transform itself and the choice that customers were seeking. “That allowed him to create all the content, it’s not an aggregator, but a creator and that’s the big difference on the go-forward economics and the growth rates.
