Sky Italia has reported significant improvements in net additions during the third quarter, ending December with 4.87 million subscribers, an increase of 71,000.
“We got our footing back and added packages. We’ve got our mojo back and I think we’ve done a good job,” News Corp COO Chase Carey told an investor call.
However average monthly ARPU in the second quarter of €42, represented a slight and expected decrease versus €43 in Q2 FY10 due to the migration of existing customers to new packaging options announced during the summer.
“This change was anticipated and we are very pleased with the overall result to date,” said News Corp CFO Dave Devoe. “Trends indicate that we are making good progress and restoring our growth trajectory towards our next milestone of 5m subscribers.”
Churn was down by 33% and gross additions up 43%.
Lower programming costs helped operating income rise by 60% to $18 million.