Sky has pulled ahead of Virgin Media in terms of the number of customers taking TV, broadband and home phone products.
3.2 million homes were taking triple play services from Sky as of March 31, 2012, compared to 3.091 million for the cable operator.
3.9 million Sky homes now take their broadband from Sky, with over 3.6 million subscribing to the telephony service Sky Talk. 3.4 million customers also take their line rental from Sky.
The satcaster has increased its triple play base by 24% year-on-year and recorded its strongest ever quarter for home communications with 702,000 net broadband, telephony and line rental product additions.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s chief executive, commented: “When we launched our home communications services we believed we could be successful by introducing some much needed choice and competition to the market. I’m delighted that six years on from launch our customers are still responding in record numbers and that our sustained growth means we’re now the nation’s favourite TV, broadband and home phone provider.”
Earlier this month Sky began to offer access to some 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots from The Cloud to its Sky Broadband Unlimited customers.
However, a disappointing 15,000 TV ads took TV subscribers to 10.268 million in the UK and Ireland. 4.222 million customers receive HD services, an increase of 159,000 that Darroch attributed in part to Sky’s newly acquired Formula 1 rights, which also encouraged new Sky Sports subscriptions.
The triple play success contributed to a 5% increase in revenues that now top £5.1 billion (€6.3 billion).
78,000 net new households in the quarter to reach 10.55 million customers.
Darroch said the standalone OTT offer Now TV was on course to launch in the first half of the year and had reached the final stages of beta testing.