Channel 4 and Sky invest in startup selling British TV content overseas
Channel 4 and Sky have made a joint investment in an online startup service aiming to boost British TV sales abroad.
Dial Square 86, the holding company for the RightsXchange (TRX), today announced the pair had invested in the company’s latest financing round, which will raise up to £5.2m.
Read more: Peppa Pig maker turns down £1bn takeover offer
The service soft launched in Asia last month and already has more than 5,000 hours of programming available from UK and US distributors and rights holders.
Sky Vision, Discovering Communications, All3Media International, Hat Trick International and Sesame Workshop content is all available. There are also hopes it will boost independent production company sales.
As part of the investment, Channel 4 – which invested through its Indie Growth Fund – and Sky will each take a minority stake in Dial Square 86.
“In post-Brexit Britain, it’s even more important for the UK’s creative industries to have access to innovative ways of trading across the globe,” said Channel 4 chief executive David Abraham.
Read more: Why it pays for TV networks to have their own flagship shows
“We recognise that the new TRX tool is a valuable online resource which will enable indies to connect with the world and export their programmes in a digital marketplace and will help support a buoyant UK indie sector well into the future.”
Sky’s group business development director Emma Lloyd added: “This latest investment reflects our ambition to partner with pioneering start-ups that can help transform the TV landscape. We’re delighted to be backing such an innovative UK-based company, with its roots firmly in the creative sector.”