Sky subscriber base tops 41pc of population, more tuning in

Sky subscriber base tops 41pc of population, more tuning in

New programmes and more channels have helped Sky Network Television achieve record subscriber growth.

That expansion is set to continue with chief executive John Fellet saying yesterday: "We are still seeing good growth."

More than 17,000 subscribers were added in the six months to December 31 so that Sky TV's subscriber base hovered at roughly 636,300 or 41 per cent of the population. As of yesterday, subscribers had increased again to about 640,500 or 42 per cent market penetration.

Investors were buoyed by the news, with Sky shares up 26c to close at $6.47 yesterday.

Meanwhile, Sky TV said interest costs caused a 17 per cent drop in half-year net profit of $29.7 million compared with the year before. The extra costs stemmed from last July's $500 million debt - raised for the merger of Sky and its parent company Independent Newspapers. Overall revenue was $266.1 million, up nearly 11 per cent over the year. Advertising revenue rose 21 per cent to $19.8 million.

New channels such as Food TV and Playhouse Disney also attracted more viewers in the period. Sky has just launched My Sky, a personal video recorder device that allows viewers to control when they watch programmes.

Sky's $30.3 million purchase of free-to-air network Prime was also announced within the period. Sky said buying Prime would allow it to increase its advertising revenue while ensuring people could watch delayed free-to-air sports such as rugby in prime time. It has installed 3600 devices, has a waiting list for 1000 more and hopes to sell 20,000 by the end of the year.

The company expects annual net profit to be at the low end of the $63 million to $83 million forecast by analysts.