Sky has announced a 9% fall in operating profit after competition from BT increased the cost of major sports rights.
Despite the fall, the company has reported increased revenues and the addition of 74,000 new TV customers in the three months to March.
The majority of TV gains are thought to have been won via its cheaper Now TV internet streaming brand – the company no longer reports separate figures for Now TV and its traditional satellite business.
Broadband gains fell from 110,000 in the previous quarter to 70,000, taking Sky’s total broadband customer base to 5.2 million.
In recent months the firm has been pushing its on demand box set and catch-up service and says this activity has seen the number of boxes connected to the internet rise to 50% of its installation base. It also has 3.7m users for its Sky Go mobile TV service.
But the quarter saw a fall of 22,000 in the number of wholesale customers taking Sky’s sports or movie channels from a rival such as Virgin Media, TalkTalk or BT.
Over the year the number of such customers has fallen by almost 200,000 to 3.6m.
Chief Executive, commented: “We have had a strong third quarter and continued to grow at an accelerated rate as customers respond to the quality and breadth of our offering.
“Our investment in connected TV services is delivering results. Almost 50% of Sky homes are now connected and this is transforming their viewing experience: connected customers are watching more TV, they’re more loyal and they’re more likely to recommend Sky.”
