Sky Atlantic

Sky Atlantic launched on 1 February 2011 on Sky in the United Kingdom and Ireland, relying heavily on screenings of US television programmes, with 50% of all programming coming from HBO. Although the channel mainly screens dramas, there are blocks in the schedule dedicated to comedies and movies. The launch of Sky Atlantic followed the broadcaster’s £150m five-year deal to buy exclusive UK and Irish TV rights to HBO’s entire archive, new HBO programming and a first-look deal on all co-productions. In January 2016, Sky expanded the portfolio shown on Atlantic after purchasing exclusive rights to Showtime programming.