BSkyB Sees No Limits In The Race For Subscribers

Bouyed by yesterday’s announcement of a 20% increase in revenues for the last financial year (see BSkyB Results Beat Expectations With 6.1m Customers Now Signed), Tony Ball, chief executive, claimed that BSkyB had won “tens of thousands” of new satellite subscribers following the demise of ITV Digital. The broadcaster has also benefited from the ongoing tribulations at the debt-ridden cable firms, NTL and Telewest.

BSkyB has repeatedly expressed confidence that it will reach its preset target of 7 million subscribers by the end of 2003 (see BSkyB Expresses Confidence In Digital Future). Ball sees this as the tip of the iceberg and believes that pay-television penetration in the UK will rise from its current level of 40% and have the same impact as in the US. “We have lined up the market where we can get Sky into every home,” he said.

However, Ball played down suggestions that the company would make a bid for Channel 5, claiming that BSkyB’s new DTT channels are seen as better value for money.