Sky Group facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sky Group Limited

Logo used since 2020
Sky Campus in Isleworth, England
Formerly	British Sky Broadcasting plc (1990–2014) Sky plc (2014–2019)
Type	Subsidiary
Traded as	LSE: SKY (2014–2018) LSE: BSY (1994–2014) NYSE: BSY (1994–2010) FTSE 100 component (BSY, 1995-2014) FTSE 100 component (SKY, 2014-2018)
Industry	Telecommunications Mass media
Predecessor	Sky Television British Satellite Broadcasting
Founded	2 November 1990; 34 years ago (2 November 1990)
Headquarters	Sky Campus London, England, UK
Area served	Europe
Key people	Dana Strong (CEO)
Products	Direct-broadcast satellite, pay television, broadcasting, broadband and telephony services
Revenue	£14.5 billion (2022)
Owner	News Corporation (39.14%, until 2013) 21st Century Fox (39.14%, 2013–2018)
Number of employees	32,000 (2021)
Parent	Comcast (2018–present)
Divisions	The Cloud Diagonal View
Subsidiaries	Sky UK Sky Deutschland Sky Italia Sky Studios Now (operated by Xfinity in the United States)

Sky Group Limited is a big media and communications company. It is owned by Comcast and has its main office in London, England. Sky operates in many countries across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

Sky is known as Europe's largest media company. It is also the biggest pay-TV broadcaster based on how much money it makes. In 2019, Sky had 23 million customers and more than 31,000 employees. The company mainly provides satellite television services. It also creates and broadcasts its own TV shows and channels. The current boss, or CEO, of Sky is Dana Strong.

Sky Group was created in 1990. This happened when two companies, Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting, joined together. The new company was first called BSkyB and quickly became the UK's largest pay television provider. In 2014, BSkyB bought other Sky companies in Italy and Germany. After these purchases, the company changed its name to Sky plc.

For a long time, a company called News Corporation, owned by Rupert Murdoch, owned a large part of Sky Group. Later, this part was owned by 21st Century Fox. In 2018, another big company called Comcast bought Sky. Comcast won a bidding war against The Walt Disney Company to take over Sky. After this, Sky became part of Comcast's family of companies.

Before Comcast bought it, Sky was listed on the London Stock Exchange. This meant its shares could be bought and sold by the public.

How Sky Started and Grew

The Beginning of BSkyB

Joining Forces

How satellite TV changed in the UK.

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) was formed on November 2, 1990. It was created by combining Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting. Both companies were losing money because they were competing against each other. Joining together helped them become stronger. Many people saw this merger as Sky Television taking over British Satellite Broadcasting.

The government looked into the merger to make sure it was fair. They approved it a month later. The company then worked to reduce its losses. They sold buildings, reduced staff, and combined TV channels. They also made new deals with Hollywood studios to save money.

By September 1991, BSkyB was losing much less money. This was because many new customers joined. By March 1992, the company started making a small profit.

Winning Sports Rights

In 1991, BSkyB made a big move to get the rights to show Premier League football matches. The existing TV network, ITV, wanted to keep these rights. But BSkyB teamed up with the BBC to make a better offer. The BBC got the rights to show highlights, while BSkyB paid a lot of money to show live matches. This gave Sky a special advantage.

Rupert Murdoch, who was involved with Sky, said that sports were a "battering ram" for pay-TV. This meant that popular sports like football helped bring in many new customers. Sky kept the Premier League rights for many years. However, later on, other broadcasters were also allowed to show some matches. This made the competition fairer for viewers.

Becoming a Public Company

In October 1994, BSkyB decided to sell some of its shares to the public. This meant people could buy parts of the company on the stock market. This helped Sky reduce its debt. The company continued to grow and make more money.

In 1995, BSkyB opened a second customer service center in Scotland. The company also became part of the FTSE 100 index. This is a list of the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Over the years, Sky continued to expand. It bought other companies and launched its own channels. For example, it bought Amstrad, an electronics company. It also acquired Virgin Media Television, which included channels like Virgin1 (later renamed Channel One).

In 2010, there was an attempt by News Corporation to fully own BSkyB. However, this plan was stopped due to a big news event. This event also led to changes in leadership at Sky. In 2013, News Corporation split into two companies. One of these, 21st Century Fox, continued to own a part of Sky.

Growing Across Europe

On May 12, 2014, BSkyB announced plans to buy more of Sky's operations in Europe. It wanted to acquire 21st Century Fox's shares in Sky Deutschland (Germany) and Sky Italia (Italy). This big deal was completed in November 2014. It brought all of Sky's European TV businesses under one company.

Sky plc: A New Name

After buying the European companies, British Sky Broadcasting Group plc changed its name to Sky plc. This new name showed that it was now a bigger, European company. The UK part of the business was then called Sky UK Limited. Sky plc later bought all the remaining shares in Sky Deutschland.

The Battle to Buy Sky

In December 2016, 21st Century Fox tried again to buy all of Sky plc. This was a big deal worth a lot of money. However, there were concerns from regulators. They worried that this purchase might give too much control over news to one family.

Then, in December 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced it would buy most of 21st Century Fox. This included Fox's share in Sky. People thought this might make the Sky deal easier to approve.

In April 2018, another company, Comcast, made a counter-offer for Sky. Comcast owns NBCUniversal, a large media company in the US. Comcast wanted to buy Sky to grow its business in English-speaking countries. This started a "bidding war" between Comcast and Fox (which was being bought by Disney).

Both companies offered more and more money for Sky. Regulators in the UK approved both offers, but with conditions. For example, Sky News had to remain independent.

On September 20, 2018, a special auction was held to decide who would buy Sky. Comcast won the auction with a higher bid. This meant Comcast would take over Sky. Fox then sold its shares in Sky to Comcast. By November 2018, Comcast owned all of Sky.

Sky Group Ltd Today

On October 12, 2018, Comcast announced it would fully acquire Sky. Sky was then removed from the stock market on November 7, 2018.

In August 2021, Sky Group made a deal with ViacomCBS. This deal brought the streaming service Paramount+ to Sky customers in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Paramount+ launched for Sky customers in Ireland and the UK on June 22, 2022.

In June 2025, Sky Group announced plans to sell its German and Swiss TV business, Sky Deutschland, to RTL Group. This deal will combine RTL's German entertainment with Sky's German operations. RTL will also be able to use the Sky brand name.

Who Leads Sky?

• Executive Chairman: Jeremy Darroch (since January 2021)
• Chief Executive: Dana Strong (since January 2021)

Past Leaders

Here are some of the people who have led Sky over the years:

• Rupert Murdoch (Chairman, 1990–2007)
• James Murdoch (Chairman, 2007–2012 and 2016–2018; CEO, 2003–2007)
• Sam Chisholm (CEO, 1990–1997)
• Tony Ball (CEO, 1999–2003)
• Jeremy Darroch (CEO, 2007–2021)

Sam Chisholm was the first CEO of BSkyB. He helped reorganize the company after the merger. Later, Tony Ball helped Sky switch from old analogue TV to digital TV. He also helped the company make a profit and get many new customers.

In 2003, James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's son, became CEO. In 2007, he became Chairman, and Jeremy Darroch became CEO. In January 2021, Jeremy Darroch stepped down as CEO and Dana Strong took over. He remained as Executive Chairman for a while and now advises the company.

How Sky Makes Money

Sky Group makes a lot of money each year. The table below shows how much money the company has made and its profits over different years.

What Sky Does Now

Sky's Companies

Sky Group owns many different companies that help it provide its services.

Partnerships and Joint Projects

Sky Group also works with other companies on various projects.

Sky Services in Different Countries

Sky offers different services in various countries.

Past Operations

Former Companies

Sky Group used to own or have a part in these companies:

Former Partnerships

Sky Group was also involved in these joint projects in the past:

Stake in ITV

Sky used to own a part of ITV plc, another big TV company. In 2006, Sky bought a large share of ITV. This move caused some debate and was investigated by regulators. In 2014, Sky sold its share in ITV.