Sky Atlantic in German carriage deal

German firms Kabel Deutschland (KBD) and Sky Deutschland (SkyD) have posted improved quarterly results, following a deal between the pair for premium content channel Sky Atlantic.

KBD today posted a net profit of €66m (US$81.3m) for the three months ended June 30, 2012. This was up significantly on the €8m recorded for the same period a year ago. Revenue also grew 7.7% to €444m and the company said this equated to a “solid” quarter.

Yesterday, KBD agreed to carry Sky Atlantic, the newly launched SkyD pay-TV channel that houses HBO content in Germany. This followed an agreement over SkyD’s HD service also this month.

The news comes after KBD announced it was buying smaller cable operator Tele Columbus for €618m. The local cable market has become increasingly consolidated over the past few years, with firms such as KBD and Liberty Global snapping up smaller groups after years of fragmentation.

KBD’s update was closely followed by News Corp-owned pay-TV operator SkyD posting a net loss of €13.8m for the same period. This compares with the €53.6m loss recorded in 2011 and revenue improved by 18%, standing at €326.7m.

SkyD also noted it had agreed with parent News Corp and a banking syndicate to extend the deadline for raising €144m in funding from September 30, 2012, to February 1, 2013.

The paycaster has recently scored multi-year content deals with the likes of Sony Pictures Television and Constantin Film, which led its CEO Brian Sullivan to claim it had a “product and innovation pipeline bursting at the seams.”