BSkyB trebles investment in Sky Arts channel

BSkyB is trebling its investment in culture channel Sky Arts in a bid to increase its profile among viewers.

Sky Arts

Sky Arts 1 and 2 is set to roll out a new brand identity and will both move further up the electronic programming guide (EPG) in order for more people to discover the channel.

Sky Arts will also be available on the Sky Go smartphone and tablet catch-up service.

The broadcaster claims that more than 3 million viewers already watch the Sky Arts portfolio each month.

Sky Arts says it will invest more than £1m in several projects around the UK and Ireland to encourage more people to participate in the arts and increase awareness of the TV channel.

The re-design of the channel’s logo and idents, devised by Sky Creative, will also be supported by a raft of new programmes such as “Playhouse Presents…”, which will feature Sir Tom Jones in his first acting role, “Sky Arts Masterclass” hosted by Michael Parkinson and the return of the South Bank Show, presented by Melvyn Bragg.

Sky has previously committed to increase its annual investment in home-grown programming to £600m by 2014.

Jeremy Darroch, Sky chief executive, says: “Sky Arts is already a major success story, reaching around 3 million viewers every month. We believe Sky Arts has a bright future, and by increasing our investment on and off screen we can make it even bigger and better.”

The Sky Arts launched in 2007, formerly a single channel called Artsworld, owned by a private partnership.

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