While the deal has been driven by BSkyB, Rupert Murdoch also stands to gain a huge amount from the takeover. He owns 21st Century Fox, which, of course, owns Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland, but also holds a 39 percent stake in BSkyB. That means the UK business is effectively buying its sister companies, adding some more cash to Murdoch's war chest ready for another crack at an $80 billion takeover of Time Warner (and HBO).

In the UK alone, Sky has seen the number of connected homes double over the past year to over 5 million. While it faces increased competition from BT and Virgin Media, it's pushed forward with on-demand offerings like Sky Go, which now counts 5.5 million registered customers, and streaming service Now TV. Sky wants replicate that success in Italy and Germany, giving the Rupert Murdoch-backed company the chance to tap new markets where combined paid TV, broadband, and streaming services aren't quite so popular.