Sky Adds 90,000 Subscribers
Sky added 90,000 subscribers to its pay-TV service in the three months to June 30, a rise of 17% year on year, to take its total number of subscribers to 8.6 million.
The satellite company’s churn rate, which measures how many people are leaving the company, was 12.1%, down from 13.7% in the last quarter.
Sky’s broadband customers also increased, by 259,000 to 716,000, whilst HD subscribers were up by 48,000 to 292,000.
Today’s trading update also showed that Sky+ households increased by 207,000 to 2.4 million, no doubt some of whom were lured by Sky getting rid of its subscription charge for the service (see Sky+ Subscription Charge To End).
Last week it was reported that Sky is apparently in discussions with Microsoft about making its proposed digital terrestrial pay-TV service available via PC.
According to reports, the tie-up with Microsoft would run alongside plans to take its three free-to-air channels from Freeview and replace them with a pay-TV service (see Sky Could Make Pay-TV Service Available Via PC).
Speaking about today’s announcement, James Murdoch, BSkyB chief executive, said: “Our transformation continues to gather pace… we are adding more broadband customers than any other provider and we are the only major residential telephony provider growing its customer base.
“Looking forward, we will continue to grow our share of an enlarged sector opportunity by delivering a superior customer experience, investing in the products and services customers want and by continuing to offer exceptional value to all our customers.”
Sky is currently locked in a courtroom battle with Virgin Media over a deal for the cable company to carry Sky’s basic channel package (see Virgin Media And Sky: The Story So Far).
In May, a survey from investment bank UBS claimed that Virgin Media could lose as many as 400,000 subscribers as a result of the dispute with Sky (see Virgin Media ‘Underestimated’ Impact Of Sky Channel Carriage Dispute).
Earlier that month, Virgin Media revealed that its customer base had already dropped to 4.81 million in the first quarter of 2007, with a net loss of 46,900 subscribers (see Virgin Media Subscriptions Decline).
The update comes in the same week that the Competition Commission confirmed its investigation into BSkyB’s 17.9% stake in ITV, which will include a probe into the relationship between the satellite broadcaster and the rest of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire (see Sky’s Stake In ITV Referred To Competition Commission).
Sky: 08702 40 40 40 www.sky.com