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Sky strikes on-demand video deal with BBC and ITV

The UK’s Sky has struck a deal to offer BBC iPlayer and ITV Player content as part of its video on-demand service.

Sky Anytime+, which launched last year, delivers on-demand video content over an internet connection as opposed via satellite.

A dedicated ITV Player section and archived content from ITV will be available as of 31 January, including Prime Suspect, Cold Feet and Lewis.

BBC iPlayer will be available on the service later in the year, although some of their archived content, such as Doctor Who, Outnumbered and Top Gear, is already accessible on the service.

“We already know how popular Sky+ is and how it puts customers back in charge of their TV viewing. Anytime+ builds on that control and it’s no wonder we’ve seen such strong demand for it,” says Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

Sky is also making the Anytime+ service available to anyone with a Sky+ HD subscription and a general internet connection, as opposed to just those customers with a Sky broadband connection.  This will extend the reach of the service from 1.2 million customers to around 5 million.

David Hing, London