Sky Deutschland Gains 73,000 Subs

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland narrowed its Q1 pre-tax loss to 73 million euros ($94 million), with strong revenue and subscriber growth.

The first-quarter revenues grew 18 percent to 318 million euros ($409 million). The customer base grew by 73,000 to 3.085 million. There was an 11 percent year-on-year increase in gross additions to 155,000. Churn rate was reduced to 11.3 percent from the year ago’s 13.8 percent. ARPU grew from 2011’s 30.57 euros ($39.30) to 31.76 euros ($40.80). Total cost amounted to 375 million euros ($482.2 million). EBITDA improved, from a loss of 55 million euros ($70.7 million) in Q1 2011 to a loss of 41 million euros ($52.7 million).

Brian Sullivan, CEO of Sky Deutschland, said, “These are once again excellent results for Sky Deutschland, and come at an exciting time for the company. Germany and Austria are amongst the highest potential markets for pay-TV across Europe, and the acceleration of demand across our full product range, as well as outstanding customer satisfaction and recommendation levels, underline the strong momentum in the business. The recent acquisition of the full Bundesliga rights, along with extended rights for other important sports competitions, major Hollywood studio renewals, the forthcoming launch of Sky Atlantic HD, and the milestone agreement with Unitymedia and Kabel BW, give Sky a unique long-term perspective and provide a significantly enhanced opportunity for growth and innovation.”