Radio Times, working with Publicis, partnered with Sky and Netflix to support the launch of the Sky Essential TV bundle and the exclusive premiere of The Thursday Murder Club film. 

The campaign ran across print, digital, and social, using Radio Times’ editorial platform as the canvas for a commercially driven but editorially led storytelling experience. 
 
Awareness of the Sky x Netflix bundle rose 33%, and post-campaign print recall hit 61% (against a 42% benchmark). 

The Challenge 

The hardest audience to shift isn’t a sceptic, it’s someone who already feels satisfied. Sky and Netflix needed to move consideration among viewers who were content with their existing TV setup and saw little reason to upgrade to the new £15-per-month Sky Essential TV bundle. 

The challenge was to demonstrate genuine value without resorting to a conventional subscription push, which this audience would likely tune out.  

The campaign also needed to support the crime drama slate more broadly, building perception of Sky and Netflix as the natural home of the genre, all while feeling relevant within the Radio Times editorial environment. 

The Campaign  

Radio Times created Radio Crimes, an eight-week unfolding mystery that reimagined what a commercial partnership inside a heritage publishing brand could look like.  

Editor Shem Law was “kidnapped”, turning the magazine into a live case file for readers to investigate. 

Print advertorials were designed as crime dossiers, building suspense week by week and rewarding readers who returned to piece together clues.  

Deputy Editor Alexis stepped into the story in Shem’s absence, taking over editor’s letters and subscriber emails to carry the narrative across Radio Times’ own platforms. 

 A dedicated digital crime hub extended the experience online, and social content brought the unfolding kidnap story into daily feeds. A reader competition, requiring clue-hunting across touchpoints, deepened participation beyond passive consumption. 

Speed was essential. To hit the Thursday Murder Club release window, the first eight-page instalment moved from greenlight to press in under two weeks, requiring tight coordination between Sky, Netflix, Immediate’s Imagine studio, commercial teams, and editorial. 

The Results 

  • The campaign reached 11 million people across all channels. 
  • The digital crime hub achieved 146% of its page view target. 
  • The social competition delivered 244% of its KPI, generating over 5,400 interactions. 
  • Native advertorial CTRs were five times higher than standard benchmarks. 
  • Digital display and the Radio Crimes masthead delivered a 0.87% CTR against a 0.48% benchmark. 
  • Post-campaign print recall reached 61%, compared to a 42% benchmark. 
  • Awareness of the Sky x Netflix bundle rose by 33%. 
  • Agreement that Sky x Netflix offers content worth paying for increased by 30%. 
  • 43% of the audience recognised the simplicity of having both services in one subscription. 

The Campaign was awarded Commercial Partnership of the Year at the 2026 PPA Awards.