Sky (BSkyB) has purchased the entire rights to the complete HBO TV catalogue. This includes a wide range of USA TV shows, including The Sopranos, Sex and the City, True Blood and The Wire.

Sky has signed a deal with the USA channel HBO, the deal is believed to be worth around £150 million over the next 5 years, which gives Sky access complete access to HBO’s archive as well as forthcoming TV shows. HBO shows will also be available on Sky+, the catch-up TV service.

With This deal Sky now has the rights to some TV shows that are currently being shown by rival channels, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm on Channel 4, and Entourage on ITV2. Sky will begin to show these series when the current deals have ended.

Martin Scorsese’s gangster drama, Boardwalk Empire, will be among the first HBO series to get aired. The show starring Steve Buscemi, and set in 1920s Atlantic City, it will be shown shortly after its September debut on HBO in America.

Sky (BSkyB) has an annual programming budget of approximatly £1.7 billion, most of which goes on sports deals and film rights. To make a comparison, Channel Five spends around £165 million on content per year, and BBC2 spends around £500 million.

This all follows on from when Sky (BSkyB) had reported an 11% increase in revenues to £5.9 billion in the three months to June. Its operating profits also rose, 10% year-on-year to £855 million.

The company also announced 90,000 new customers, and is aiming to reach 10 million subscribers by the end of the year.

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