This Wednesday marks the fifth anniversary of Sky Digital and BSkyB is expected to announce that it is has reached the landmark figure of seven million subscribers.
The satellite broadcaster had earmarked the end of 2003 as the point at which the target should be achieved. However, 133,000 new subscribers were added in the three months to June, taking the total to 6.8 million (see
BSkyB Results Beat Market Expectations As Subs Hit 6.8m).
BSkyB has taken advantage of the collapse of ITV Digital and the tribulations of NTL and Telewest to become the dominant player in the UK pay-tv sector. The company’s outgoing CEO, Tony Ball recently set a new target of 8 million subscribers and average revenue per customer of £400 by the end of 2005.
