Sky Deutschland Sees Subs Gain

UNTERFÖHRING: Sky Deutschland says it added 82,000 subscribers in the second quarter, bringing its base to 3.81 million, with revenues rising 14 percent to 428 million euros ($572 million) and EBITDA up 23 percent to 45 million euros ($60 million).

The platform said ARPU in the period was 34.52 euros ($46) and churn was 7.7 percent, as compared with a 12-month rolling average of 10.1 percent. Subscription revenues gained 13 percent to 391 million euros ($522 million).

For the 2014/15 fiscal year, the German pay-TV platform is projecting to add between 400,000 and 450,000 subs. “Having recently marked the fifth anniversary of Sky Deutschland, in what was not too long ago a dormant pay-TV market, we have now seen 20 consecutive quarters of continuous growth, and we think the potential is just starting to be tapped," said Brian Sullivan, the CEO of Sky Deutschland. "In the past quarter net subscriber growth increased strongly, and customer loyalty hit new record levels with churn rates that are the best in our company's history. Many exclusive premieres of outstanding series and blockbuster movies in the quarter—every single one also available on-demand via the new Sky Go, which is now free for all Sky customers—confirm that Sky is the clear market leader across all platforms and genres. And with the return of action in the Bundesliga and Champions League following on from the incredible performance of the German National Team in the World Cup, we couldn't be more excited about the year ahead.”

BSkyB is in the midst of acquiring 21st Century Fox's controlling stake in the platform and is set to embark on a tender offer to take full control of the DTH operator.