“Streaming is not a one size fits all”, says SkyShowtime chief

“Streaming is not a one size fits all”, according to SkyShowtime boss Monty Sarhan, speaking on a panel at the DTG Summit today.

Monty Sarhan

Commenting on the launch of SkyShowtime’s ad-tier across all its 22 markets, Sarhan said operating across a variety of diverse markets in Europe it is to crucial to deliver “as many different products on the shelf for consumers.”

Comcast and Paramount Global’s European joint-streaming service launched an ad-supported plan in April. The Standard with Ads plan, sits alongside SkyShowtime’s ad-free existing plan, Standard Plus.

Pricing of the ad-tier varies across each region, in markets such as Spain, Serbia, Croatia and Slovakia the Standard with Ads plan is priced at a monthly rate of €5.99.  Whilst, in Finland and the Netherlands the ad version is priced for €6.99 per month, and €3.99 in Bulgaria and Romania.

Sarhan said, “we did it across all of our markets, and I think that’s a very different strategy from our competitors, because we believe strongly in giving all consumers across all of our markets an affordable way to stream it.

He explained each market is different in terms of socioeconomics and how far along they are within the streaming and direct to consumer market.

He said, “There are people who are going to be fine with a great price point and then have an ad-supported experience, and there are people who want a more premium experience without ads.”

Separately, speaking on the European roll-out of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max, Leah Hopper EVP EMEA Streaming, said, “we have quite a large subscriber base for HBO Max and we have quite a large subscriber base for discovery+. So how we’re positioning it is two products coming together, the breadth of the content coming together.”

Warner Bros. Discovery announced it will launch its combined streaming service Max in France and Poland on June 11.

The WBD exec said as the launch the new streamer across Europe they will adopt a more market by market approach, rather than “the evolution of the product, and adding more into the proposition.”

She referred to Max as an bundling offering that packages content from “multiple services or that exist in different places together to consumers”, spanning across, entertainment, drama, no- fiction and sports.