Darroch: Sky willing to spend for German football rights, will invest in content

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch

Sky is well-placed to win German top-tier football rights and will invest in more German TV series, according to CEO Jeremy Darroch, in an interview the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper following the announcement that Sky Deutschland CEO Brian Sullivan is quitting to return to the US. 

Darroch also said that he had not ruled out entering new European markets in the wake of its acquisition of its German and Italian sister companies, but said the company was concentrating on integrating its existing assets.

Darroch told the paper Sky had an “appetite for investment” in sports rights in particular. The group currently pays just under half a billion euros per season for Bundesliga games, and industry observers expect that this could double for the next set of rights, due to be negotiated from April next year.

Darroch said Sky had plans to invest in new series in Germany in addition to its football investment, echoing a pledge made by Sullivan last year.