Sky : opens up the Italian market with landmark new partnership

Sky has opened up significant new headroom for growth in Italy with the launch of a new IPTV service in partnership with Telecom Italia. Under the terms of the landmark new deal, Sky in Italy is offering all of its market-leading content line-up over broadband for the first time, broadening its reach and enabling it to access the many Italian households who are unable to install a satellite dish.

The jointly-branded service will be available to all TIM broadband customers using Telecom Italia's network and a dedicated My Sky HD decoder. Customers will have access to all of Sky's exclusive sport, movies and entertainment content and will enjoy all the benefits of the Sky viewing experience, including HD, Sky On Demand and the popular Restart function which allows customers to go back to the start of a film.

Andrea Zappia, Chief Executive, Sky Italia commented: "This partnership is a great example of two companies embracing innovation to open up new opportunities for growth. For the very first time, the millions of Italian customers unable to install a dish will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the Sky experience as part of a great value bundled offering. We feel excited about the future."

Sky's partnership with Telecom Italia is part of the company's strategy of broader-based growth which includes extending its reach and targeting new segments of the market via IPTV and over the top (OTT) services.