ITV Digital now has 1.26 million subscribers, having added a further 46,000 during the last quarter of 2001. However, the digital TV is continuing to look at ways to reduce costs internally, including through job reductions.
Churn – the proportion of people leaving the service – was 24.9% for the three month period. ITV Digital claims that this is within its forecast range, adding that the effect is less costly than for other companies, since unused set-top boxes are recovered and recycled. When rival Sky Digital reported its subscriber figures earlier this month, its churn was only 10.4% and its subscriber total had reached 5.7 million (see
BSkyB Growth Beats Expectations).
ITV Digital has said that it is working with the manufacturers of the planned low-cost digital set top boxes, as it hopes this could unlock a substantial potential market.
In order to control its cost base, the business is lose around 600 staff. These job losses, it said, will occur “almost entirely voluntarily”.
Last year the company had to work hard to quell the fears of shareholders and industry commentators, alarmed at the spiralling costs of the venture. Managing director Rob Fyfe said today that the latest results showed that the aims of steady growth in subscribers and control of cost base were being achieved.
