BSkyB off to a strong start, revenue rises 7% to GBP1.84-B

London, UK,  Oct. 18, 2013 — BSkyB showed strength across all its products during the first quarter of fiscal 2013 with plenty of highlights. During the first three months ended 30 September 2013, BSkyB snatched 800,000 new paid-for subscription products for a 50% year on year growth. Sky Broadband surpassed 5 million customers with 111,000 net new broadband customers added in the quarter, up 9% year on year, while triple play penetration rose to 36%, up 3 percentage points.

There had also been a rapid growth in connected TV services with Sky+HD boxes going up 642,000 to 3.4 million, a fourfold increase in On Demand usage, and 219,000 net additions to its Sky Go Extra.

Core TV subscriptions saw modest net growth of just 37,000 during the quarter, and a total of 10.459 million television subscribers

All these contributed to a useful increase in all-important ARPU of £17 (US$27.46) to £559 (US$902.97) per annum. However, as expected, churn grew from 10.9 to 11 percent.

To top BSkyB’s performance for the quarter, revenue rose 7% to £1,843 million (US$2,997 million) although adjusted operating profit went down 8% to £285 million (US$460.31 million).

Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive, said strong growth across the board drove a 7% increase in revenues and added 50% more new subscription products than last year as customers continued to respond to the quality and value we offer.

“We are making excellent progress against the plan we set out in July to accelerate growth and returns from new services. The number of connected Sky+HD boxes grew by almost 50,000 a week, faster than in any previous quarter, and we are seeing an immediate increase in usage as customers get connected.

He said weekly downloads through their On Demand service grew fourfold in the quarter while the number of movie rentals through Sky Store doubled on last year.

“While the consumer environment remains challenging, we are well placed as we execute a strong set of plans for the rest of the year,” Darroch said.

Sky Sports subscribers also grew well in the quarter and viewing increased by almost 15%, reflecting the strength of the summer schedule and a record start to the Premier League season. Audiences to the first 23 live Premier League games were up 20% on last year.

BSkyB said their quarter success now means that over 14 million homes in Britain and Ireland actively choose to pay for Sky’s channels and content.