It is a surprising announcement: Sky Germany will no longer produce Originals series from 2024. The relevant department is to be dissolved. TECHBOOK knows how this came about and what this step means for the continuation of popular series or new titles.
According to a report by the entertainment portal “Variety” Sky Germany boss Devesh Raj informed his employees on Thursday morning about the decision to close the production department of the Originals series in 2024. However, series and seasons that have already been commissioned and are currently in production are to be completed, according to Sky. This applies to titles such as “Helgoland 513” or the fourth season of “Das Boot”. But there are also Originals series, the continuation of which is now on the brink due to the restructuring at Sky Germany.
Continuation of major Originals series from Sky uncertain
One of these series is “Babylon Berlin”, which is not only one of the best and most praised productions from Sky. It was also the first Sky series to launch in 2017, two years after the Originals division was founded. The fourth season started in autumn 2022 and fans have been eagerly awaiting season 5 ever since. However, this is not yet in production, so “Babylon Berlin” could end prematurely after season 4. As Variety writes, there could still be hope for Sky’s Originals series. Producer Beta Film has therefore already confirmed that the fifth season has been commissioned together with the ARD production company ARD Degeto and XFilme. A possible new partner after Sky Germany could be Netflix. The streaming provider also broadcasts the series in important markets such as the USA, Canada and Australia.
At this point, however, it must be mentioned that the production stop from 2024 will only affect Sky Germany and thus the activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH). In other markets such as Great Britain or Italy, where the pay-TV provider is also active and produces content, everything continues as usual. Titles like “Gangs of London”, “I hate Suzie” or “Gomorrah” come from here.
This is how Sky Germany justified the decision
Sky Germany has been struggling with a tense economic situation for a while. Even a sale of the division has been in the room for a long time, TECHBOOK reported. But the decision to close the production department of the Originals series and also to stop scripting activities should have nothing to do with a sale that is still being discussed. Rather, the company wants to use this step to better position itself economically.
When asked by TECHBOOK, a Sky spokesman explained:
Since the launch of our fictional in-house productions, the entertainment industry, the content landscape and the usage behavior of viewers have changed and developed rapidly. We are convinced that we are well positioned in the market with our position as a provider of high-quality, acquired content, an unrivaled range of sports and the best aggregation offer of entertainment apps on Sky Q, as well as with our streaming service WOW. We have therefore made the decision to discontinue the production of new fictional Sky Originals from 2024 onwards. We would like to thank all our partners and colleagues for their significant contribution to the production of our Sky Originals over the last few years.
Sky spokesman on TECHBOOK request
Streaming market is highly competitive
The streaming market in Germany is highly competitive. There are more and more providers, the offer is becoming smaller and smaller. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that many studios have now started their own streaming service and are therefore withdrawing their own productions from the previously large platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney + and Sky. For some providers, this also means a loss of customers. On the other hand, the costs for the rights to live events such as sports events should not be underestimated. Sky Germany is mainly under pressure from its competitor DAZN, which now holds many sports rights.
Sky Germany boss Devesh Raj also lists this development in a statement to his employees as a reason for the current decision to say goodbye to Sky Originals. “Since we entered this space, the entertainment industry, the content landscape and viewer behavior have evolved rapidly – and so has Sky’s business,” said Raj. The cost of producing screenplays has continued to rise, making it more difficult for drama series to gain traction.