Sky has signed a multi-year extension of its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite capacity agreement with SES, securing transponder capacity at the 28.2 degrees East orbital position to continue delivering television services to households across the UK and Republic of Ireland into the next decade.

The renewal extends a commercial relationship that dates back to 1988, making it one of the longest-running partnerships in European broadcasting. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and neither company specified an exact end date beyond stating that the contract runs into the next decade.

The 28.2°E orbital slot, where SES concentrates its capacity serving the British Isles, has been the backbone of Sky's satellite platform since the operator's earliest days. Households receiving Sky via satellite dish today continue to depend on capacity at that position, even as the operator has shifted its strategic emphasis toward IP-delivered services over broadband.

Satellite persists alongside streaming

The renewal comes at a moment when satellite's share of Sky's distribution mix is shrinking. Sky has spent years migrating customers toward its Glass TV sets and Sky Stream pucks, both of which deliver programming over IP and require no dish. Nick Herm, Group Chief Operating Officer at Sky, acknowledged that dual-track reality in his comments on the deal.

"As we give customers more choice in how we access Sky, satellite continues to play an important role in how we deliver our services to customers across the UK and Ireland," Herm said. "This agreement with SES provides the reliability, reach and service quality we need to continue delivering the viewing experience our satellite customers expect."

The phrasing is notable. Sky frames satellite as one access route among several rather than the default delivery mechanism, consistent with the operator's stated strategy of letting customers choose between dish, cable and IP reception. The commercial logic for retaining satellite capacity rests on reach: a substantial installed base of dish-equipped households across the UK and Ireland, including rural areas where broadband performance may limit the appeal of IP-only viewing.

SES, for its part, presented the deal as evidence that satellite distribution remains viable for large broadcasters despite the industry-wide shift to streaming. Deepak Mathur, President of the Media Vertical at SES, emphasized both the longevity of the relationship and the delivery economics.

"Sky has been a valued partner of SES for nearly four decades, and this agreement marks another important milestone in our relationship while reinforcing our commitment to the UK and Ireland market," Mathur said. "This significant multi-year renewal demonstrates the confidence that leading broadcasters continue to place in satellite. It remains an effective way to deliver premium content at scale, providing the reach, reliability and resilience broadcasters depend on while delivering exceptional viewing experiences to millions of households."

Marketing claim versus market reality

Mathur's assertion that broadcasters retain confidence in satellite should be weighed against the wider trajectory. Pay-TV satellite subscriber bases across Western Europe have declined steadily as IPTV and OTT platforms absorb viewing. Long-term capacity renewals of this kind reflect a floor of committed demand rather than growth: Sky needs guaranteed national coverage for its remaining dish customers, and SES secures anchor tenancy at its most important European video neighbourhood.

Neither company disclosed subscriber figures for the satellite base covered by the deal, nor did they quantify the capacity involved. The absence of numbers leaves open how quickly the dish population is contracting and how the renewal's duration maps onto Sky's migration timelines.

For SES, the agreement locks in revenue from its largest video market neighbourhood well into the 2030s, providing visibility as the Luxembourg-based operator reallocates capital toward non-geostationary ventures and government services. For Sky, the deal guarantees continuity of service for satellite customers while the operator continues to push IP-based products as its principal growth platform.

The two companies gave no indication of further announcements tied to the renewal, but the multi-year term running into the next decade signals that both expect dish-based reception to remain a meaningful part of Sky's UK and Irish footprint for years to come.