BskyB on target for

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB today said it remained on course to reach its target of seven million subscribers in Britain and Ireland by the end of next year.

The pay-TV operation added 217,000 customers during the three months to September 30 after achieving the best subscriber growth seen in the first quarter of its financial year in nine years.

Issuing quarterly results today, Sky said it had 6.32 million direct-to-home digital satellite subscribers at the end of September.

The performance, which has been helped by the collapse of ITV Digital, also meant underlying operating profits rose by a record 69% to £75m (€117.8).

Chief executive Tony Ball said: “This has been a record breaking quarter for Sky. These results provide the foundation for continued strong profit growth this year.”

He added that the latest churn rates – the average number of subscribers leaving the service – had fallen to the lowest level since the launch of Sky Digital in October 1998 at 9.6%.

The company also said it was generating more revenue per user, with the figure for the quarter up 10% on a year earlier at £348 (€546).