Sky to offer on-demand BBC content?

BBC on-demand content could soon be available to Sky viewers, after it was revealed that the two companies are in talks.

The news comes as the BBC plans to expand its iPlayer service throughout Europe, and recently announced a fix in the offing for its iPad app.

“We continue to look to expand the VoD content available through Anytime+ and are in dialogue with the BBC about how they could best deliver on demand content through Sky,” a Sky spokesman told PaidContent.

“Clearly, they are keen to reach the millions of viewers they have in Sky homes, and we’re keen to expand the content available to our customers, and so we continue to discuss a potential way forward.”

Talks had previously come to a halt following Sky’s assertion that they wanted the content to be available via its Sky+ menus, rather than the iPlayer format.

BSkyB added UKTV as its first VOD content partner last month, the company owned by BBC Worldwide and Virgin Media. Content will be available via the recently launched Sky Anytime+ service and it is thought that this could provide a template for a deal with the Beeb. The iPlayer is now available on around 300 devices.

“Putting to one side the technical capabilities of the box, the key issue here is what’s in the best interests of the 38 percent of all licence fee payers who also happen to be Sky customers,” Sky said.

“Our connected Sky+HD boxes use broadband connectivity to deliver high-quality long-form video through Sky Anytime+, which our customers find the best, simplest and most intuitive way to discover and access on demand content.  It also seamlessly integrates with linear TV and recorded Sky+ content.”