Stephen Van-Rooyen: Last News

Sky has launched a TV box which plugs into the back of the television and will operate using the household WiFi.

Sky Content MD Zai Bennett is heading to BBC Studios.

K.J. Yossman Sky content boss Zai Bennett has jumped ship to BBC Studios Productions, where he has been appointed CEO and chief creative officer. Bennett’s remit will span the company’s U.K.

Stormy Daniels Doc Finds UK Buyer

K.J. Yossman Stephen van Rooyen, CEO of Sky U.K. and Ireland, is stepping down after almost 17 years at the company.

Sky UK & Ireland’s CEO and Group CCO, Stephen van Rooyen, will step down at the end of next month.

K.J. Yossman Sky boss Stephen van Rooyen said the streamers will have to adapt and change just as linear networks did a decade or so ago. Van Rooyen, who is CEO of Sky U.K. and Ireland and CCO for the Comcast owned-Sky Group, was in conversation with Sky News anchor Sophy Ridge at the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms conference on Thursday in London. When Ridge asked the media boss whether he had relaxed about the threat of streamers since the great “Netflix reset” of last year, he replied: “Actually I never really thought about it that way.” “There’s been a lot of rhetoric about traditional TV versus new TV and all that stuff, particularly over the last seven or eight years,” van Rooyen said. “But we never really thought of it that way. We’ve thought about the customer, we’ve thought about the competition, we’ve thought about how it either presents an opportunity or how it can be aggregative to the consumer experience we deliver.”

Comcast-owned Sky has extended its multi-year content agreement with Sony Pictures Television on the eve of the LA Screenings.

Sky has become the first national connectivity provider to help their customers access cheaper broadband and mobile tariffs by signing up to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) social tariff scheme for benefit claimants.

K.J. Yossman The Royal Television Society (RTS) annual convention, which took place all day Thursday (Sept. 27) in London, U.K., brought together some of television’s biggest hitters including Warner Discovery, Disney, Sky, ITV and BBC. The title – and theme – of this year’s convention was “The Fight For Attention” and the broadcasters and content creators discussed challenges, strategy and sustainability, especially in the shadow of a looming recession. Undoubtedly, content is still the most important factor for broadcasters, streamers and viewers alike. “Content is still probably the most – for sure, in my opinion – the most important [factor],” in terms of consumer choice, said Warner Bros Discovery International president Gerhard Zeiler, who said that as well as continuing to invest in local content the company was of course investing in franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and more. Unsurprisingly, Jan Koeppen, president of IP powerhouse The Walt Disney Company EMEA, also said that in an era of choice, content would be the deciding factor. Said Koeppen: “Even with economic woes that we have right now, people are going back to quality, and I think great content will win.”

Major European streaming and media bosses have debated how best to help viewers navigate the overwhelming content choice out there in today’s TV landscape, as they talk up the future of AVoD and FAST Channels at RTS London.

RTS London Unveils Lineup & Warner Bros Discovery’s Priya Dogra As Chair

Formula 1 Finale Goes Terrestrial

The big UK networks can use their different programming strengths to reach audiences with the same climate change message, according to the bosses of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky.

Sky has embraced the cord-cutting revolution by launching a TV product that doesn’t require a satellite dish, described by CEO Dana Strong as the “first platform to fully integrate content from local broadcasters to global giants.”

Jamie Lang Sky Italia has confirmed the rumored appointment of Andrea Duilio as the company’s new CEO, set to take office Sept. 6 of this year reporting directly to Stephen van Rooyen, Sky CEO for the U.K.

Amazon and Sky have signed a “long-term partnership” that will see Amazon Prime Video launch on Sky and Now TV devices across Europe from today, while Now TV and Sky Ticket will be carried on Fire TV.