SkyShowtime board heads to London with future unclear

The board of European streamer SkyShowtime is heading to London next week for meetings with senior leaders to discuss the future of the business, Broadcast has learned.

A delegation of executives from the platform’s co-owners Comcast and Paramount will be holding meetings with the entire leadership team, it is understood, including those not based at its London headquarters.

Leadership team members include content chief Kai Finke, chief business officer Hristina Georgieva, chief streaming officer Roberto Soto, and financial chief Mark Neil, among others.

A SkyShowtime source told Broadcast International that the meetings are a new development for the company and that there is “significant noise” among staff that its future is being discussed. It comes a week after Comcast and Paramount launched a strategic review of the joint venture business, which could result in the streamer being closed.

Chief executive Monty Sarhan wrote to employees last week and in the letter to staff seen by Broadcast International told them that the streamer’s future was unclear.

“SkyShowtime operates in one of the most competitive markets in our industry,” it read. “Despite the excellent work of the team and the strength of what you and the team have built, the landscape continues to evolve rapidly and remains highly challenging.

“Against that backdrop, SkyShowtime’s shareholders are commencing a review of strategic options for the business, which includes the possibility of a wind down. No decisions have been made, and all options remain under consideration.”

Broadcast International revealed last month that a flurry of senior execs had already left the business and that insiders have been questioning its future, with suggestions that the service could ultimately be folded into Paramount+.

Sources said SkyShowtime staff are expecting news about the future of the company by the end of the week.

A SkyShowtime spokesperson told Broadcast International: “We’re not going to comment beyond what’s in the letter. No decisions have been made.”