KEY POINTS:
British BSkyB has unveiled a joint venture with Sony that will enable owners of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld device to download films and music videos to watch on the go.
The service will be available to the UK's 2 million PSP users from early next year and will be the first PSP video download service available in Europe.
News of the deal came as BSkyB reported a 7 per cent drop in full-year operating profit to 815 million pounds and a 9 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to 724 million after the company invested heavily in its broadband expansion.
Sky now has 716,000 broadband customers, after signing up 259,000 customers in the three months to June, and claims to be the fastest growing broadband provider in the UK.
Its chief executive James Murdoch said the deal with Sony "would make portable, on-demand TV a reality".
A number of providers, including Sky, already provide content that can be downloaded to mobile phones but consumers complain about the small screens on most handsets.
With the new service, customers will be able to download a choice of programmes, films, as well as sports and entertainment videos, direct to their PSP via a wi-fi connection, or transfer content to their PC.
Access to content will be via subscription or pay-per-view basis. The company is likely to look at similar deals with other manufacturers, such as Nintendo, once this has got off the ground.
Sky also announced that it will raise its dividend by 27 per cent as it reported a 10 per cent rise in revenues to 4.6bn pounds for the year to the end of June.
Chief financial officer Jeremy Darroch said Sky was likely to benefit from jitters over rising interest rates as the company "offered significant savings" in its broadband and talk package.
Mr Murdoch added that the year had been one of "enormous importance and change" with the launch of it broadband and "talk" home telephone services.
- INDEPENDENT
