Sky boss Dana Strong says artificial intelligence (AI) has become a “cultural movement” within the organization, but she has serious concerns about IP protection.
Strong cited the new opt-out system being considered by the UK government, which would mean copyright holders would need to opt-out from having their material used for training AI models. This has caused concern amongst producers, rightsholders and all and sundry. The legislation is currently making its way through parliament but has not yet been passed.
“If we as a large organization spend our resources fighting for IP rights I can’t fathom how a small producer keeps up,” she added. “Protecting copyright is a very big issue in AI and some consequences of the opt out are impossible to police.”
Speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media & Telecoms 2025 and Beyond Conference this morning, Strong said “it’s hard to keep the genie back in the bottle.”
Within Sky, however, she said AI has become a “cultural movement,” and she pointed out how much Sky is using the tech to improve both systems and also programme making.
Strong talked up Sky’s place in the sports world, saying that the pay-TV giant has increased its volume by 50%.
“I say we get the Olympics on screen every weekend in terms of the average number of games we are giving customers,” she added. “There is more range and choice.”
She was speaking upon the launch of a new Sky Glass Air TV for £6 per month, which comes out next week.
Strong was speaking at the Deloitte Conference just prior to BBC boss Tim Davie, Netflix EMEA chief Larry Tanz and UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
