A new deal between Sky and brewer Molson Coors offers independent outlets up to one-third off the price of their Sky subscription, and a freeze on the price of Carling until December 2013 and free WiFi.
The companies have joined forces to create a package they say could benefit more than 70,000 outlets, including pubs, in the UK.
The deal works on a tiered system whereby licensees ordering at least three Molson Coors core brands directly, one of which is Carling, and keep them permanently on the bar, will receive 10% off their Sky Ultimate package; licensees ordering all beer from Molson Coors, including Carling and two other core brands will get a 20% reduction, and licensees ordering all drinks, including Carling and two other core beer brands, will get 33% off their Sky bill.
Those that order all their drinks requirements from Molson Coors will get an 18-month Carling price freeze and free WiFi via The Cloud network.
Molson Coors declined to say how many pubs were eligible for the higher dis-count but hoped “several hundred” would sign up in the first year, “climbing into the thousands” in the next two to three.
Sky denied the deal was an attempt to woo operators before hiking prices, following the £2.28bn it recently paid for live Premier League football rights, which is believed to be about 40% more than it paid last time.
