EXCLUSIVE: UK film fanatics will no longer be able to watch coverage of the Oscars on Sky.
The Comcast-owned pay-TV giant has foregone the rights to show the world’s biggest movie awards ceremony in the UK, following a 20-year run hosting coverage of the LA bash. Deadline understands rightsholder Disney is close to striking a deal with a new UK buyer.
Sky won the rights from the BBC 20 years ago. It most recently showed the ceremony across four channels: a dedicated Sky Cinema Oscars channel, Sky Showcase, Sky Arts and Sky News, along with streaming service Now TV. Coverage tended to run from around 11 p.m. GMT, when the red carpet begins, to rougly 5 a.m. GMT.
The reasons for Sky pulling away from the Oscars could be multi-faceted but all media networks are feeling the impact of the macroeconomic slump at present, and are looking for cost savings where possible. Mirroring U.S. ratings, UK audiences for the Oscars have been dwindling in recent years, with around 35,000 tuning in live on the main Sky Cinema channel this year compared with nearly 60,000 in 2022.
Prior to Sky taking the rights in 2004, it had been on something of a tug-of-war with the BBC, with coverage swapping twice between the pair over five years. Back in 2004, then-BBC Director General Mark Thompson, who became CEO of the New York Times a decade on, decided that the corporation would be more selective with its U.S. film and TV programing rights, according to reports from the time.
The U.S. Oscars coverage is shown on ABC. Hosted by regular Jimmy Kimmel, last year’s 95th ceremony was a quieter affair than the prior one, which was completely dominated by the Will Smith-Chris Rock slap. Everything Everywhere All at Once took home the Best Picture prize along with multiple others and there were also big wins for Brendan Fraser and Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front.
Sky declined to comment.