Never saw The Wire, but I am told it is rather good. I won't be seeing it in a hurry either, now that Sky has slurped up HBO's entire library in a UK exclusive.

The deal - worth £150m over five years, according to various reports - will see iconic American TV shows such as The Wire, The Sopranos , Sex and The City, True Blood, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage, disappear from free UK TV as contracts expire.

A Sky rep told the Daily Mail that the deal would give people "more reasons" to subscribe. It will also give people more reason to find US proxies.

Sky expects to have 10 million TV subscribers by the end of the year.