Telecom Italia to offer Sky Italia over IP

Telecom Italia has signed a deal with Sky Italia that will allow its customers to access the full Sky television offering through its high-speed ultrabroadband service.

The offer, which will be available from 2015, will let customers access Sky TV using a My Sky HD decoder, specially created for internet TV.

The firms said that the deal confirmed the importance, for both companies, of “synergising their assets and skills” as broadband develops in Italy.

For Sky, the partnership will allow it to expand its pay TV sales base, appealing to potential subscribers who cannot install a satellite dish.

The Sky-Telecom Italia offer will be available at an equivalent price to Sky’s existing satellite service in Italy, and will include the same content.

“The agreement with Sky is part of Telecom Italia’s overall strategy, which identifies the offer of premium content as an element that adds value to its new generation network infrastructure,” said Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano.

“This partnership, which allows our customers to access the most extensive pay TV offer available on the market, is particularly satisfying for us, since it creates a new industrial model for the consumption of audiovisual content, thanks to the technological skill of Telecom Italia and the production know-how of Sky.”

Andrea Zappia, CEO of Sky Italia added: “Until today, satellite was the only technology that could bring the full richness of our offer into Italian homes, guaranteeing the quality standards that have always been associated with the Sky brand.

“We are very satisfied with this important agreement that, thanks to Telecom Italia’s ultrabroadband network and the possibility of developing a new generation lPTV platform, allows us to assure the excellence of the Sky user experience also through the internet.”

Telecom Italia said that the Sky offer will be primarily directed towards customers who have a fibre-optic connection, and will be a driver for the development of ultrabroadband.

Telecom Italia started to roll out ultrabroadband services over fibre in December 2012, offering speeds of 30 Megabits per second.