Sky Italia has reported first quarter operating income of $165 million (€127.6 million) as the DTH operation benefitted from its expanded football portfolio. Coverage is now available throughout the 2009 financial year that began on July 1, as opposed to just ten months in 2008. The figures compare to operating income of $48 million one year ago, though with some help from local currency growth of 18%.
Subscribers increased by a modest 4,000 on the quarter, though a total of 359,000 new subs have been added over the last 12 months, taking the total over 4.6 million.