Futuresource Reaction -Sky’s mega bundle: What does it mean for the UK market?

On 11th February, Sky announced that Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu will all be included in one Sky TV subscription. This is being positioned as a world first move and starts from £24 per month. It brings the biggest streaming services together in one place and fully integrates them across Sky Stream, Sky Glass and Sky Q. 

This comes at a time when households have become frustrated with juggling multiple apps and separate subscriptions. Sky’s approach seeks to reverse that trend, presenting a streamlined home screen experience across positioning Sky once again as the central point of premium entertainment.  

As part of this new arrangement, Disney+ and HBO Max will be included in ad supported tiers for eligible Sky households from March, while Hayu will follow from July with some titles made available earlier. Netflix remains packaged within Sky Ultimate TV for eligible customers.  

With so many dynamics at play, the central question becomes: Is this new Sky bundle well positioned to succeed?  

Futuresource reaction: "Two key elements help suggest the answer is yes, but with important caveats." 

Firstly, there is room for growth through consolidation. Sky’s move reflects what many households want: fewer apps to manage and a more organised viewing experience. The new bundle directly addresses this by simplifying access to major services through one interface, one bill and integrated features such as cross-app recommendations and continue watching. 

The value is also strong. Existing Sky customers will receive over £20 worth of streaming apps each month at no extra cost, meaning households already paying for multiple services separately could now access everything under a single package. With Disney+ and HBO Max arriving next month, the latter launching on the 26th March, and Hayu following in July, Sky has several opportunities to keep customers engaged and help reduce churn. Importantly, this comes as Sky looks to address ongoing decline in its traditional PayTV base of around 6 million households. The new bundle therefore not only supports growth but also plays a strategic role in stabilising and strengthening Sky’s core TV offering as more consumers shift toward streaming first viewing. 

However, new customers will need to commit to a 24 month contract, and this reduces flexibility. Streaming has traditionally appealed due to its month-to-month nature, and this long commitment may put off younger or more budget conscious households off. 

Secondly, Sky has traditionally maintained strong distribution partnerships and with this it has continued to secure deep integration deals with the major streaming services. Disney expects its reach in the UK and Ireland to grow by about 40% thanks to Sky’s scale and distribution. This shows how powerful Sky still is as a content gateway.  

This foundation of bundles means the included services will benefit from prominent visibility on Sky’s platform. For customers, it means they can access everything without separate subscriptions or logins. There is also competitive impact. HBO Max’s arrival on Sky creates a strong launch position for the service, broadening out available content from that Sky subscribers have been used to with Sky Atlantic the existing home for HBO content in the UK.  

However, will this pull attention away from services not included in the bundle, such as Paramount+ and Apple TV. 

Sky will also rely on ad-supported tiers to help drive growth 

Futuresource’s Living with Digital consumer survey, shows that over two thirds of SVoD subscribers in the UK take at least one ad-supported plan across four global streamers, and this share is growing. Disney+ Standard with Ads and HBO Max Basic with Ads sitting at the heart of the new bundle provide strong value for money. While those households wanting ad-free experience can upgrade through Sky, some may prefer to keep certain subscriptions direct for more control. 

The other thing to consider is that the UK market is mature and highly saturated, with 61% of households already subscribing to at least one streaming service. Living With Digital data shows that the average SVoD household has access to 3.6 services, only marginally below the “ideally desired” 3.7 This may instead position the 4-in-1 bundle as an opportunity to expand household service portfolios beyond current “ideal” threshold, including within the around 43% SVoD homes already subscribing to Prime Video, by driving incremental uptake through aggregated value and convenience.  

Sky’s bundle offers clear value and convenience, and it aligns with a growing desire to simplify streaming. However, the fixed contract and reliance on ad-supported versions may limit appeal for some households. 

The team here at Futuresource will be keeping a close eye on all developments and in the short-term over the next couple of weeks initial forecasts will be available with further thoughts included within the upcoming Subscription Video on Demand report at the end of February and Pay-TV report at the end of July.

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Press contact: Nicola Finn, Head of Marketing and Communications, Futuresource Consulting nicola.finn@futuresource-hq.com

Research contacts and co authors:

Rachel Mitchell Research Analyst, Entertainment, Futuresource Consulting, anastasia.budash@futuresource-hq.com

Anastasia Budash Lead Analyst II, Entertainment, Futuresource Consulting, anastasia.budash@futuresource-hq.com

James Duvall Principal Analyst, Head of Entertainment, Futuresource Consulting, James.Duvall@futuresource-hq.com