Sky set to offer subscribers TV via The Cloud
Sky is looking to leverage its ownership of The Cloud WiFi network by offering its subscribers TV programmes, such as Boardwark Empire, via the brand’s mobile apps in its hot spots.
The broadcaster is also exploring options to offer brands geo-location targeting on the network and options to serve ads depending on the type of content users are consuming.
Speaking at an event hosted by Thinkbox today (17 November), Sky’s head of platform development and partnerships, Tim Hussain, said: “We are just at the beginning in terms: of what we can do on mobile, there’s a plethora of content we are going to bring to devices.”
He added that the company could potentially build out the hub on The Cloud to offer extra content such as gaming or editorial through partnerships with advertisers, although admitted this was not Sky’s particular area of expertise.
“This is not just about live TV services, we’re having to think about [mobile] completely differently. It’s not about taking a website approach and dumping it on to devices,” he said.
Sky is also developing its Android offering, although Hussain says there are more challenges in this space because it is a “fragmented” market.
BSkyB acquired The Cloud in January this year, which provides it more than 5,000 public WiFi hot spots across the UK.
