The Sky Switzerland boss on the new order: "HBO is important - but not the only decisive factor"

Luca Fontana

18.12.2025

Translation: machine translated

The streaming market is tearing itself apart - and Sky is right in the middle of it. HBO Max, Netflix, Paramount: Sky CEO Eric Grignon explains why he is backing aggregation despite the chaos and why Sky Show will not lose its relevance.

Streaming has rarely been so chaotic - and so exciting. Warner Bros. Discovery officially confirmed that HBO Max will launch in Switzerland in early 2026, the next tectonic shift followed: Netflix wants to take over Warner. Just a few days later, Paramount countered with a direct, hostile offer to shareholders.

A bidding war has broken out that is no longer about content, but about power, politics, control and the future structure of the entire industry.

In the centre of this global storm is a streaming service that has been affected more than almost any other: Sky Show. For years, Sky has been the central point of contact for HBO content in many European countries - from «Game of Thrones» to «House of the Dragon» and «The Last of Us». Series that have not only shaped the Sky brand in this country, but also ensured that many subscribers ended up with Sky in the first place.

But what is happening now?

But what happens now - when HBO Max arrives, when rights migrate, when Hollywood reorganises itself and Sky suddenly becomes not just an aggregator, but also the crisis manager of a streaming ecosystem that is disintegrating? This is exactly what I spoke to Eric Grignon, CEO of Sky Switzerland, about.

Eric, in our last conversation, you said that ten different streaming services don't work in a small market like Switzerland - aggregation is the future. Where do you stand on this statement today?My view remains unchanged. For me, aggregation remains the only sustainable way forward. We will continue to see consolidation in Europe - and especially in Switzerland. This is already happening at Hollywood level, where more and more studios are merging. In the long term, this will lead to fewer platforms.

And yet: Now HBO Max is launching here too, the market continues to fragment.
In the short term, it's true: the launch of HBO Max makes everything more complex. Customers will have to search even harder to find what content is available. But I see this as a transitional phase. At the moment, all the major studios want to go directly to the end customer because the traditional TV business is shrinking. In the long term, the market will reorganise itself and aggregators will then play a central role.

Does that mean you will soon have to manage without Warner Bros. and Co.
First of all, our relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery is not ending just because HBO Max is starting. We will continue to work together as partners.

Right. In your communication, you even say that many major HBO series will remain with Sky Show in the long term. What does «mean in the long term» specifically?
For the next few years, I can clearly say that the new seasons of the big titles will remain on Sky Show. «The Last of Us», «Euphoria», «The White Lotus», «House of the Dragon», «Dune: Prophecy» - everything is coming next year with new seasons. What happens beyond that depends very much on how the studios develop. If Warner ends up with Netflix or Paramount, the streaming landscape will change dramatically. How is simply not predictable today.

This must be difficult. Nobody knows exactly where Warner Bros. Discovery will end up in the next few months. How do you deal with it when there is so much uncertainty with such an important partner?We have to remain flexible and not commit ourselves to a single studio. In the end, people are less interested in the studios than in good content anyway. Our job is to ensure access to this.

So just like in your aggregator vision: one day, people should be able to find « à la carte» all their favourite series with you, regardless of which studio or streaming service owns the rights.
Exactly. We want to mediate. To curate. Stay flexible. We know the Swiss market and its tastes, we develop our app here and we communicate in all national languages. Anyone who comes to Switzerland from the big studios benefits from working with us. That makes us optimistic.

However, certain HBO content will be discontinued from 2026. How openly are you communicating these changes?
As soon as we know which series and seasons are specifically affected, we will communicate this transparently on the platform. For me, the worst thing would be if someone was in the middle of a series and the rights suddenly disappeared. We want to offer these people solutions as to how they can still finish watching them. And importantly, if something disappears from Sky Show, it will always remain available via the Sky Store.

HBO fans will still ask: «Why should I take out two plans in future - Sky Show and HBO Max?»
HBO is important, but not the only decisive factor. People often underestimate how broad Sky Show actually is. We have NBC Universal and Peacock, we have our own Sky Originals such as «Chernobyl», «The Day of the Jackal», which is getting a new season, «Tschugger» and other big productions. We also have new partners such as Sony Pictures - a studio that consciously favours cooperation. HBO, on the other hand, no longer accounts for even 20 per cent of our entire series catalogue.

This means that Sky Show's market position will remain stable despite the HBO launch?
Yes, we will add more content in 2026. Sky Show will not get smaller, but bigger. Even if some HBO titles are cancelled, we will replace them with strong new partnerships and our own productions. And: «House of the Dragon» will still be with us, which is probably the most important HBO title of all for 2026. « The Last of Us» and «The White Lotus» will also remain. Those are huge draws.

But there is also another lever to retain customers: the price. Have you never thought about a price reduction? If HBO content becomes less expensive in the long term, Sky Show will lose some of its unique selling point.
Of course we have thought about it. But there will be no adjustments in the short term because we consider our price structure to be very attractive. We are also currently investing heavily in Sky Originals and in new partnerships such as the one with Sony. We are working on true aggregation - i.e. «one price, lots of content». And that is much more valuable for customers.

What exactly is coming in the next few years? What will Sky Show offer that doesn't yet exist today?
Next summer, for example, we'll be releasing a new Swiss Sky Original. I can't say exactly what yet. Other Swiss productions are in the pipeline for 2027 and 2028 - bigger and more international than «Tschugger». We are working with local production partners, but also with the Sky network. Some of these projects could become the biggest Swiss productions in history to date.

Wow, not bad. And what about sport?
Also very good. Our aggregation in the sports sector is already working today: we bundle Blue Sport, MySports and DAZN in one app. That is unique worldwide. Customer satisfaction is correspondingly high. We have also launched Sky Broadband and Sky Mobile. In other countries such as the UK and Italy, Sky has long been a telecoms provider. We recognise that there is the same demand here. This strengthens our business model and makes us more independent.

One last question: What does the possible RTL takeover of Sky Germany, Switzerland and Austria mean for you?We are operating as separate companies and are not exchanging information until the authorities have authorised the purchase. But we think that the time could come next year. This would open up exciting new opportunities, especially in competition with Netflix and Amazon. Until then, however, we are unfortunately unable to share anything.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.

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