Sky enjoys UK, German growth

Operating profits at European satcaster Sky have risen by 20%, with the company reporting record customer growth in Germany and Austria and a rise in subscribers in the UK.

Sky boss Jeremy Darroch
keynotes at MipTV

The satcaster said it gained 127,000 new subscribers in the UK during the third quarter, its best growth rate in 11 years. A further 115,000 customers were added across the company’s other European territories.

Sky said more than 300 million programmes had been downloaded during the quarter via its on-demand services, up 63% on the same time last year, with entire seasons of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead proving particularly popular.

Sky in the UK took over its sibling services Sky Italia ad Sky Deutschland last year and the enlarged company has now posted operating profits of £1.03bn (US$1.53bn) for the nine months to the end of March, up from £854m over the same period a year ago.

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch, who told delegates at MipTV last week about his OTT ambitions for the European giant, said the results demonstrated that the company’s “teams are working well together right across the new Sky.”

He described the UK results as a “stand-out performance,” adding: “Five months in, our integration plans are progressing well and we are well positioned for the expanded growth opportunity ahead.”

Total revenue across Sky was up 5% to £8.45bn, while revenues in the UK and Ireland were up 6% to £5.82bn. Sky’s German operations posted a rise of 9% to £1.038bn but in Italy revenues remained stagnant at £1.59bn.