Sky Atlantic relies heavily on screenings of US television programmes, with more than 50% of all programming coming from HBO. Although the channel mainly screens dramas, blocks in the channel's schedule were dedicated to comedies and movies. The launch of Sky Atlantic in 2011 followed the broadcaster's £150m, five-year deal to buy exclusive UK and Ireland television rights to HBO's entire archive, new HBO programming and a first-look deal on all co-productions. Although it had been renewed since, the exclusivity deal with HBO expired on 26 March 2026 with the launch of the HBO Max streaming service in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. In December 2024, the existing deal between Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery was updated to include life-of-series rights to all HBO programming released before the expiry date, including House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, Euphoria, and Dune: Prophecy. All future HBO original programming, like Harry Potter, would be released exclusively on HBO Max. Sky still planned to make new acquisitions via separate agreements on a programme-by-programme basis, while new series in existing franchises would continue to be released on Sky as "co-exclusives".
