BSkyB takes distribution in-house

Pay TV giant British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) is to buy Parthenon Media as a first step to building a distribution arm to market the international rights to Sky's home-grown TV shows.

Parthenon Media Group is an independent international distribution and multi-media rights management company, founded and led by Carl Hall. He will head the new BSkyB distribution arm, reporting to Sophie Turner Laing, Sky's Managing Director of Entertainment, News and Broadcast Operations.

Taking its distribution function in-house will help generate additional revenues, BSkyB believes. Though it has established its large UK market share on the back of Hollywood films, sport and US TV programmes, BSkyB invests hundreds of millions of pounds each year producing original content, and is set to increase its budget for British-made content to £600m a year by 2014.

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"As we continue to increase investment in UK production, this is a natural step in the evolution of Sky's content business," said Turner Laing.

Carl Hall said he is honoured to be leading the new distribution division within Sky. "This will also open new and exciting opportunities for international producers looking to benefit from the support of one of the UK's largest investors in original content and a global leader in the provision of world-class television," Hall said.

JH