British pay-TV network Sky expects to continue its relationship with HBO “one way or the other,” as Warner Bros. Discovery’s plans to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ in Europe next year gather pace.Sky has had HBO content output deals in place since 2014, but its ability to re-up in 2025 has been the subject of much speculation as HBO Max rolled out. The pair also entered into a co-production pact in 2019 and have made shows such as the critical hit Chernobyl and comedy Landscapers.Warner Bros. Discovery has stopped the Max roll out ahead of plans to create a merged product and has not yet addressed its deal with the UK giant. One option could be to pull back from the deal and put its HBO shows on the platform. Deadline revealed yesterday the streamer is letting go of 29 people in Europe.HBO shows have historically been among Sky’s biggest rating shows: Game of Thrones delivered several records, while the debut of its prequel series House of the Dragon last week delivered a cumulative 1.4M over two showings — Sky Atlantic’s best since the original Westeros show.Questioned on an Edinburgh TV Festival panel this morning whether Sky expected to strike a new deal, Sky Director of Programs for the UK and Ireland Jamie Morris said: “Our relationship with HBO continues to go from strength to strength. They’ve had a great year – the HBO slate is great and they’re creative co-production partners with us.“One way or the other that relationship will continue, in what shape we will wait and see.”This morning, Sky unveiled a series of comedy shorts featuring the likes of Rosie Jones, Desiree Birch and Jordan Stephens.
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