Sky+ HD has passed the one million home mark for the first time, vindicating the policy of maintaining a £10 monthly premium on the product, while keeping the price of the hardware below £49.
In Sky’s quarterly results for the period to March 31, 2009, the satcaster reported the total number of HD households as 1.022 million, up 243,000 in the first three months of 2009, and 465,000 on the year. The standard definition personal video recorder Sky+ is now in 5,056,000 households, a quarterly increase of 406,000 households, and representing one in five of all UK TV households.
Sky continued to buck the recession, adding 80,000 homes to reach 9.318 million households, the additions representing a 43% increase on the same period in 2009. Reported revenues of £3,996 million led to a reported operating profit of £622 million, up 23%.
When Sky HD launched in May 2006 the price of the receiver stood at £300, in the subsequent three years the price has been steadily decreased, supermarket Tescos even offering a free set-top when the customer purchases an HD Ready television display.