Sky Deutschland to stop making original scripted programming

Sky Deutschland, the German division of Sky, will stop making original scripted programming from next year. “We will halt production of new scripted Sky Originals from 2024 onwards,”  the company, which is home to hit titles such as “Das Boot,” “Babylon Berlin” and “Munich Games,” announced in a memo to staff.

Staff were notified of the move by Devesh Raj, CEO of Sky Deutschland. According to Variety, the entire scripted originals team will eventually be disbanded, though shows that have already been commissioned and are in production, such as post-apocalypse drama “Helgoland 513″ and the fourth season of “Das Boot,” will finish filming. Any projects in development will be “put into turnaround,”  as per another internal note from Sky Studios’ CEO, Cécile Frot-Coutaz.

In his note, Raj explained that the decision had been made due to the rising cost of producing and scripted content, which he said was “in part driven by the emergence of myriad new streaming providers, making it harder for drama series to cut through.” The CEO of the division added that the decision had “not been taken lightly”  and acknowledged the impact on affected employees.

Production of Sky originals in the group’s other major markets, such as the UK and Italy, are not expected to be impacted, as the company has a far more established operating presence in these countries. These other divisions are responsible for a number of high-profile originals such as “Gangs of London,” “I Hate Suzie,” “Brassic” and “Gomorrah,” just to name a few.

“As Europe’s leading direct-to-consumer media and entertainment company, we know our customers well. Though we remain incredibly proud of our scripted Sky originals to date, we are also confident that as the best provider of premium, acquired content, an unmissable range of sports and all the best entertainment apps, aggregated into one industry-leading platform – Sky Q – together with our streaming service WOW, we are well positioned,”  the CEO of Sky Deutschland said.