Media analysts forecasted the subscriber figures would be closer to 150,000 or 170,000 at the most. However, the 192,000 shows Sky's push to get more boxes into homes is paying off. It is 130,000 up on the first quarter to September 30 when 62,000 new subscribers joined.
This takes the total number of subscribers to 7.6m from 7.4m.
The satellite broadcaster said it was on track to reach its target of 8m subscribers by the end of 2005. To achieve that goal, the company will need to add an average of 117,000 customers every quarter.
Sky added a further 168,000 subscribers to its personal video recorder service Sky+, taking it to a total of 642,000. In the last quarter, Sky+ attracted 77,000 subscribers.
Multiroom households, those with more than one box and a major target for Sky growth, rose by 116,000 to 473,000.
James Murdoch, chief executive of Sky, said: "The business delivered a strong set of financial results in the first half with good sales and profit growth."
The subscriber take-up has been boosted by Christmas sales and its recent marketing blitz. The increase in sales is likely to have been driven by Sky's £20m autumn marketing campaign "What do you want to watch?" and its new initiative, Sky in a Box, offering consumers the service off the shelf.
The company's second-quarter revenues also exceeded analyst estimates, rising 10% to £1.9bn in the three months to December 31. Earnings before goodwill and exceptional items rose by 44% to £234m as profits after tax rose 18% to £154m.
Sky has seen an 8% increase in ad revenues on the last period to £159m, reflecting the 5% growth in the UK TV advertising sector.
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