The news comes as the satellite broadcaster reported its third-quarter results. In the quarter ending March 31, Sky's direct-to-home digital subscribers totalled 6,712,000 and, including both cable and estimated digital terrestrial viewers, at least one Sky channel is now distributed to 12m homes in the UK and Ireland.
At the same time, the group has been moving out of the red, with profits before goodwill and exceptional items up by 96% to £254m. Sky's net profit was £33m. The increase, according to the group, was due to a substantial proportion of costs being fixed and strong top-line performance. Total revenues grew by 15% on the comparable nine-month period ending March 2002, with operating expenditure increasing by 9%.
Interactive revenues have been growing strongly, thanks to shows like 'Big Brother' and 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'. Sky Active revenues increased by 12% on the comparable period to £74m.
Sky chief executive Tony Ball said: "In what is normally a quiet period we have delivered healthy subscriber growth and an operating profit, which has almost doubled year on year, thanks to strong revenue growth and sustained cost control."
The increase in subscribers was helped by a reduction in the churn rate. Over the last year, only 9.3% of customers decided to drop the service, despite the price rise in the last quarter. Sky now makes an average of £364 a year from each digital subscriber, an increase of 7% on the comparable period.
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