BSkyB UK Digital TV Sales Surge
dailynews.yahoo.com
By Jeff Daeschner
LONDON (Reuters) - Pay TV giant BSkyB said Friday it signed up 1.63 million digital TV subscribers in the first year since it pioneered the new technology in Britain with the launch of its 140-channel SkyDigital service.
The subscriber figures came at the top end of market estimates, which ranged from 1.4-1.6 million by the end of September, boosted by BSkyB's radical move to give away its digital receiving equipment to consumers.
BSkyB said the total number of subscriptions sold had hit 1.8 million by Thursday, with nearly 1.5 million SkyDigital systems actually installed in homes.
However, the company's hefty investment in digital TV continued to weigh on its results, which switched to a pre-tax loss of 13.6 million pounds ($22.7 million) in the quarter to September 30 from a 52.0 million profit a year earlier.
Operating profits fell to 27 million pounds from 71 million.
BSkyB's shares shed 2.3 percent to 599 pence by 1350 GMT, performing better than the FTSE 100 blue chip index, which was down 3.0 percent.
BSkyB's figures coincided with its annual meeting, chaired for the first time by media magnate Rupert Murdoch.
Murdoch Still Against Merger
Murdoch's News Corp is the largest shareholder in BSkyB, with a 40 percent stake.
But France's Vivendi surprise grab of a 25 percent stake in BSkyB has fuelled persistent talk of a link with Vivendi's Canal Plus pay TV unit.
However, Murdoch told reporters after the meeting that he remained opposed to a merger, although he said BSkyB and Canal Plus could work together in areas such as film production.
BSkyB's latest figures maintain its lead over rival ONdigital, owned by commercial TV companies Carlton Communications and Granada Group.
''We are outselling our competitors by several hundred percent,'' BSkyB Chief Executive Tony Ball said.
ONdigital said it had signed up 411,000 new subscribers by the end of September. The comparable figure for BSkyB was roughly 722,000, since the rest of the SkyDigital customers have switched from its existing analog satellite system.
Both SkyDigital and ONdigital are giving away set-top box decoders as they battle to sign up subscribers.
Asked about BSkyB's sports strategy, Ball said the company had no current plans to acquire further stakes in British soccer clubs. ''If the right opportunity came along we would look at it but there are no direct plans at the moment,'' he said.
BSkyB recently acquired a nine percent stake in Leeds Sporting Plc, owners of English premier league soccer club Leeds United.
It also retains a stake of around 11 percent in European champions Manchester United, a legacy of its attempt to take over the club. The takeover was blocked by the British government earlier this year on competition grounds.
In response to a shareholder's question, Murdoch said he had no plans to try to buy another UK soccer club. ''But some judicious holdings are good synergistic holdings for the future,'' he said, citing the Leeds and Man. United stakes. |
