Sky profits up as HD takes off
BSkyB has reported strong first quarter results as profits rose 9% to £198m in the three months to 30 September, boosted by new customers and demand for high definition services.
Revenue rose 10% to £1.38bn with 15% growth in subscriptions which the broadcaster says reflects growth in customer numbers and product penetration.
Sky says the number of customers taking up its Sky+HD service has doubled in the past 12 months, and saw a threefold increase during the quarter.
The take up of combined TV, broadband and telephone services increased 17%, up from 12% in the same period last year.
Early this year Sky signed deals with IP Vision to make its online TV service, Sky Player, available via Fetch TV, the Xbox games console and Microsoft Media Centre as part of a programme to make the broadcaster’s content available through a range of platforms.
Last week the broadcaster launched Sky Songs, a monthly subscriptions service to give customers unlimited access to more than four million songs, streamed without adverts.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky chief executive, says: “Our business has made a good start to our 2010 financial year. In what continues to be a tough economic environment, we have increased the number of customers joining Sky.
As the year continues, we’ll maintain a clear focus on our customers and on delivering on our priorities, all with the aim of building a larger, more profitable, and better business.”
