the industry

Comcast Wins Bid to Purchase Sky and Here’s What That Means

Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

This weekend, Comcast outbid 21st Century Fox for the right to purchase British pay-tv service Sky. Leaving out most of the numbers because wow it’s Sunday and we’re just trying to relax, this means that if Sky’s shareholders approve of it, Comcast can purchase the network for $39 billion. Reuters reports that the move is being seen by experts as the latest attempt by traditional media companies to consolidate as fast as possible in order to remain competitive against streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. Assuming it goes through, the purchase would make Comcast the largest pay-TV service in the world by opening up the European market, and Comcast would own the broadcast rights to Premiere League Soccer and several exclusive deals to distribute HBO content outside of the US.

Comcast Wins Bid to Purchase Sky and Here’s What That Means