Sky: timeline of key events, 1983 – 2018

Following Comcast’s £30.6 billion winning bid for Sky, Mediatel presents a timeline charting the broadcaster’s fascinating rise

With full credit to media analyst and consultant Alex DeGroote.

1983 – News International – acquisition of 80% of Satellite Television UK and subsequent renaming as Sky Channel. Relaunched as Sky Television in 1989.

1987 – British Satellite Broadcasting/BSB awarded licence from the IBA and completes over £200m fund raise.

1988 – Astra 1A satellite is launched.

1989 – Sky News launched.

1990 – British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (“BSkyB”) formed from merger of BSB and Sky Television. News Corporation ownership 50%. Other Shareholders include Pearson, Chargeurs, Granada, Reed International. CEO of newco is Sam Chisholm.

1991 – Sky Sports launches. Becomes a pay channel a year later.

1991 – Movie Channel part of Sky package, starts broadcasting 24/7.

1992 – Sky purchases the live rights to the newly formed Premier League for £304 million.

1993 – Sky launches multi-channel subscription package (including some non Sky channels). Channels are encrypted for subscriber access only.

1994 – BSkyB IPO – reduction of News Corporation ownership to 40%, £900m raised. Company valuation, £4.6bn.

1994 – MTV launches on Sky platform.

1995 – Opening of second customer service centre in Livingston.

1995 – BSkyB enters FTSE 100.

1996 – Share price peaks that year around 595p.

1996 – Fox News launched in US.

1997 – Mark Booth becomes CEO.

1997 – Sky Box Office launched.

1997 – British Interactive Broadcasting (BIB) is formed as a joint venture between BT (32.5%), Sky (32.5), Midland Bank (20) and Matsushita (15) to develop interactive digital satellite services.

1997 – Channel 5 (later renamed Five) begins broadcasting in UK.

1997 – BBC News 24 launched as rival, rolling news channel (to Sky News).

1997 – Netflix launched in US.

1997 – Year end, BSkyB reports £314m pretax profit, up 22% yoy. Company flags analogue to digital transition.

1998 – ITV Digital (OnDigital) launches, backed by Carlton and Granada. The third platform for U.K. multichannel TV, after cable and satellite. Direct-to-home or DTH is BSkB’s primary route to market.

1998 – Acquisition of an additional 9.5% in Granada Sky Broadcasting.

1998 – Acquisition of approximately 11% of, and failed bid for, Manchester United PLC.

1998 – BSkyB launches digital satellite proposition, includes free installation of new satellite dishes, cut-price subscription and 140 channels on the platform.

1998 – Vic Wakeling becomes MD of Sky Sports, with Sky News added to responsibilities in 2007.

1999 – Tony Ball becomes CEO.

1999 – Sky passes 2m subscribers (in digital).

1999 – Sky shows first ever interactive football match, Arsenal v Man Utd.

1999 – Shareholder dividends suspended.

1999-2000 – Acquisition of 9.9% of Manchester City PLC; acquisition of approximately 9% of Leeds United PLC; acquisition of 4.8% of Sunderland PLC; acquisition of 9.9% of Chelsea Village PLC

2000 – Acquisition of Sports Internet Group plc.

2000 – Acquisition of stake in Kirch, giving access to German TV market. New shares issued by BSkyB as funding.

2000 – Share price reached high of 1957p. Dot com mania benefits all Media share prices.

2000 – BSkyB has £1.1bn net debt at year end.

2001 – Acquisition of 47.6% of Open/Interactive TV (BIB).

2001 – Sky analogue service ceases.

2001 – New Sky+ set-top box launched, incorporating DVR functionality.

2001 – Sky renews Premier League football contract for three years, at a cost of £1.1bn.

2001 – Vivendi sells stake in BSkyB Plc. Stake had been topped up with acquisition of shares from Pathe.

2002 – ITV Digital ceases broadcasting.

2002 – Freeview launches. There are no subscription fees, with viewers requiring only a compatible set-top box. Sky offers three channels on Freeview platform, including Sky News.

2002 – Sky wins rights for live coverage of Champions League football.

2002 – On statutory accounts, BSkyB loses £1.3bn, 2002 year end.

2003 – Sky Sports starts broadcasting Heineken Cup Rugby Union

2003 – James Murdoch becomes BSkyB CEO.

2003 – Year end 2013, total revenue, £3.2bn.

2003 – BSkyB regains investment grade status from S&P, after years of digital upgrade investment.

2003 – Sky passes 7m subscribers in UK.

2003 – Subscription revenues, >£3bn, become the biggest contributor to UK TV industry revenues. It overtakes advertising for the first time. BSkyB, of course, is a key driver.

2004 – Sky and Arena Leisure plc acquire Channel 4’s shares in At The Races, increasing the BSkyB’s shareholding to 50%.

2004 – Sale of 20% stake in QVC (UK), operator of QVC – The Shopping Channel.

2004 – Sale of 49.5% stake in Granada Sky Broadcasting.

2004 – Sky dividends resume after years of hiatus.

2004 – Flotation of ITV Plc. Only SMG, Ulster and Channel stand alone post consolidation.

2005 – Launch of YouTube in US. Mainly user generated video content, uploaded and shared. Acquired by Google one year later. Huge success story.

2006 – The merger of NTL and Telewest, subsequently re-branded in 2007 to Virgin Media. Virgin is the main retailer of cable-based pay TV services in the UK.

2006 – Sky launched its high definition (HD) services with 10 HD channels.

2006 – BSkyB buys 17.9% stake in ITV plc for £940m.

2006 – Acquisition of Easynet Group plc, £211m. From July 2006, Sky offers broadband and telephony services to subscribers.

2007 – Acquisition of 365 Media Group PLC; acquisition of Amstrad plc (key set top box supplier).

2007 – Jeremy Darroch becomes BSkyB CEO. Formerly CFO.

2008 – Share price reaches a low of 368p. BSkyB, 24p.

2008 – Freesat launched by BBC and ITV.

2008 – Revised BBC iPlayer launched. No TV licence required for consumers.

2010 – Sale of the business-to-business arm of Easynet, to a private equity group for £100m.

2010 – Forced sale of 10.4% equity stake in ITV plc.

2010 – Acquisition of Virgin Media Television Limited, and selected assets.

2010 – News Corp takeover bid for BSkyB (60% not already owned), offer pitched at 700p per share.

2010 – Team Sky launched to compete in major cycling competitions.

2011 – BSkyB passes through 10m subs in UK.

2011 – Andy Gray fired as lead pundit on Sky Sports football coverage.

2011 – Sky Atlantic launched, majoring on premium US drama.

2011 – News International phone hacking scandal. News of the World shut down.

2011-12 Leveson inquiry. Judicial inquiry into the general culture and ethics of the British media.

2011 – Sale of approximately 13% stake in Shine, TV production company.

2011 – Withdrawal of News Corp bid for BSkyB.

2012 – Netflix launched in U.K.

2012 – Sky / News Corp invest in Roku, streaming platform.

2012 – Now TV launched, catering to consumers who do not want a subscription contract. Later rolled out in Italy.

2012 – Sky Vision. Sky starts to sell both Sky Group originated television programmes and third party television programmes internationally through ‘Sky Vision’.

2012 – Nicholas Ferguson replaces James Murdoch as Chairman.

2013 – As a result of restructuring, 39% Murdoch / Fox stake in Sky now housed in newly created TV and film company 21st Century Fox – which is spun out of News Corporation into a separately listed public company. Newspapers, Sun, Times and Sunday Times, become part of a second company, News Corp.

2013 – Year end, BSkyB has c23m customers, retail and wholesale, across main territories.

2014 – Sky AdSmart rolls out in UK, which delivers addressable TV advertising to clients.

2014 – Acquisition of Sky Italia and a majority 90% interest in Sky Deutschland, for c£5bn. Sky thus operates in 5 countries in Europe, eg including Ireland and Austria. U.K. is c75% of Group profits.

2014 – British Sky Broadcasting Group plc changed its name to Sky plc.

2014 – Remaining stake in ITV Plc sold to Liberty Global for £481m.

2014 – Sale of SkyBet to CVC, for £800m. Had been formed in 2001.

2015 – Sky and BT Sport pay a record £5.136bn for live Premier League TV rights for three seasons from 2016-17, + 70% increase on the previous rights deal.

2015 – Ongoing success of own-produced content. 3 of the top 5 shows on Sky 1 in 2015 were Sky Original productions.

2015 – Year end 2015 total revenue c£10bn.

2016 – James Murdoch named as Chairman once again.

2016 – Peak capex, c£770m. Average capex FY 12-19, £495m p.a.

2016 – Sky Q range launches, introducing a new user interface, Wi-fi functionality, Bluetooth connectivity and a new touch-sensitive remote control.

2016 Sky hosts a capital markets day at Osterley. Company outlines future plans for mid-high single digit revenue growth, and profit growth ahead of revenue.

2016 – Independent Sky directors agree an offer price of £10.75 per share in cash from 21st Century Fox. Share price had been trading in 800p-850p range, so a material premium. At the time 21CFox anticipates that the acquisition will complete before the end of 2017.

2017 – DCMS refers planned Fox takeover of Sky to CMA, on grounds of media plurality and broadcasting standards.

2017 – Sky Mobile went live in the UK. Tariffs mainly focused on data rather than traditional calls & text.

2017 – Sky’s pan-European content investment c£5bn.

2017 – Ofcom reveals 96% mobile telephony penetration in U.K.; 88% internet; 94% TV. Smartphone penetration continues to grow.

2017 – Disney to acquire most of 21st Century Fox, under CEO Bob Iger. Not contingent on Fox successfully acquiring Sky.

2017 – Share price ends the year at 1010p.

2018 – Amazon breaks the Sky/BT combo on Premier League football rights, with a deal to livestream exclusive coverage of 20 matches a season online.

2018 – Construction of Innovation Centre at Osterley, further enhancing Sky’s commitment to consumer tech (Leeds and Lisbon already serving as development centres).

2018 – Comcast launches initial bid for Sky, 1250p per share. Subsequently raised to1475p per share. Fox’s revised bid at 1400p per share.

2018 – Sky/Netflix partnership details outlined. £10 pcm for full access to Netflix, for a Sky Q subscriber.

2018 – Year end 2018. Sky EBITDA, £2.5bn; EPS, 67.3p, +10% YoY. Net debt/EBITDA ratio, 2.6x.

2018 – Sky has c26m customers, retail and wholesale, across main territories. Developing operations in Spain and Switzerland as well.

2018 – Sky has c30k employees internationally, vs BBC c35k employees.

2018 – CMA decides Fox’s bid is not in the public interest, due to concerns about media plurality. Clearance eventually given in July 2018, after 19 months of scrutiny.

2018 – Sky News ringfenced by Fox. Sky News is said to be loss making, but has won many awards in its lifespan, and is a highly valued operation.

2018 – Comcast cedes way to Disney in bid for Fox assets, in $71bn offer. Market interprets this as ‘saving firepower’ for Sky bid.

2018 – Sky shares trade above both bids. Crispin Odey says of bidding war that “they are two big gorillas and neither likes to lose”. Comcast market value, $170bn, Disney market value, $164bn.

2018 – Neither bidder will declare their offer final. Subsequently, Comcast successful in blind auction, overseen by U.K. Takeover Panel. Bid is 1728p per share. Fox’s bid, 1567p.

2018 – Exit valuation on Sky Plc is 25x historic PE.

Sept 2018 – Comcast deal values Sky equity at £29.7bn. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says “it’s a great day”. Completion likely in Oct 2018. Or is there another twist and turn?