One in five households sign up for Sky digital

More than 20% of Irish households now subscribe to Sky digital, BSkyB said today.

The company said that it has 300,000 subscribers in Ireland, up almost 18% on last year.

"Achieving our 300,000th subscriber is a significant milestone for Sky and confirms the growing appeal of digital television in Ireland," said Mark Deering, director, Sky Ireland.

The company is hoping to increase its customer base next year with a new Irish news service to be based in Dublin. The new CEO James Murdock has been vocal about strategic plans to expand the companys Irish customer base.

Earlier today, Sky said that profit before tax and exceptional items rose more than 200% to £131m (€187.96) in the three months to September after it added more than 170,000 subscribers to its books.

In Britain the average BSkyB customer spent £366 (€311.64).