Satellite broadcaster BSkyB has purchased the exclusive rights to HBO’s entire TV catalogue in a deal believed to be worth £150m over the next five years.

It will give the Rupert Murdoch access to acclaimed dramas such as The Wire, true Blood and The Sopranos as well as future shows such as Martin Scorceses’s upcoming Boardwalk Empire.

Keen to boost its non sporting content to increase subscriber numbers the broadcaster hopes to reach 10 million subscribers by the end of the year.

As well as purchasing American content Sky is commissioning new content and trying to position Sky Arts as the country’s premier cultural channel, a bid to woo politicians and regulators with evidence that commercial channels can rival their public sector counterparts in the production of quality programming.

Attempts thus far at producing home grown hits have proved to be failures however including Davina McCall vehicle ‘Got to Dance’, an entertainment flop and the notorious Harry Enfield’s Brand Spanking New Show.

Despite this Sky’s programming budget now dwarfs its nearest UK competitors, commanding a budget of £1.7bn per annum, although the majority of this is spent on sports and film rights. By comparison BBC2 spends £500m per year and Five just £165m.