‘Babylon Berlin’ & ‘Das Boot’ network Sky Deutschland ceasing scripted originals & closing team

Babylon Berlin

Sky Deutschland, the German division of Comcast-owned European pay-TV giant Sky, is to cease making scripted shows.

The network, which is home to titles such as Das Boot, Babylon Berlin and Munich Games, is to “halt production of new scripted Sky Originals from 2024 onwards,” according to a memo to staff from Sky Deutschland boss Devesh Raj yesterday.

Shows currently in production are to be completed, but the Sky Deutschland originals team is expected to be closed once they have been delivered and there will be no new commissions. These final titles currently in production include the fourth season of Das Boot, season three of Die Wespe, Helgoland 513 and Public Affairs.

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.” Raj said that the decision had “not been taken lightly” and acknowledged the impact on affected employees.

German Sky Originals are commissioned by the Sky Studios Deutschland team, led by Tobias Rosen. As recently as last month, the company was seeking to expand its investment in German scripted, with the hiring of Julia Rappold as senior executive producer and Stella Flicker as executive producer.

Das Boot

‘Babylon Berlin’ continues

One show set to continue is Babylon Berlin, with the makers confirming that the German drama series will still receive a fifth season, without the backing of Sky Deutschland. German free TV network ARD Degato and producers Beta Film and X-Filme released a statement following the news about Sky Deutschland to confirm that season five of the 1920s-set drama had been put into development.

The closure of the scripted originals team follows widespread speculation that Comcast is planning to sell off Sky Deutschland, with ProSieben Sat.1 having been mooted as one potential buyer. The savings made by shuttering the team could indicate the firm is getting ready to sell.

Sky Deutschland has been feeling the pinch from streaming competition for some time now, with this latest development coming just a few weeks after the pay-TV service announced that it was dropping three linear channels – Sky Comedy, Spiegel Geschichte and Curiosity TV – in the coming months as a consequence of viewers moving to streaming and on-demand.

Production of Sky originals in its other major markets, the UK and Italy, are not expected to be impacted, with Sky having a far more established operating presence in these countries.

A spokesperson for Sky Deutschland said, “Since the launch of Sky Originals in DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), the entertainment industry and content landscape have rapidly changed, coupled with ever-evolving consumer behaviour. We know our customers well and are confident that our position 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 will lead to success in DACH.

“With this in mind, we have chosen to focus our investment in these areas, and we will not continue the production of new scripted Sky Originals from 2024 onwards. We’d like to thank all our partners and colleagues for their significant contribution to producing Sky Originals over the past few years.”