Sky Deutschland has revealed it now has 2,857,000 customers with an increased monthly ARPU of €30.94. In its Q3 2011 financial report, the pay-TV operator said Sky Premium HD subscriptions grew over 100,000 in the quarter to 818,000 and 200,000 homes have the Sky+ service.
Commenting on the Q3 results, Brian Sullivan, CEO, Sky Deutschland, said in a statement: “Our clear focus on customers and market-leading innovation has continued to deliver strong operational results and enhanced financial performance. We improved across all key metrics, achieving the best Q3 net customer growth in the history of the company.
“During these challenging economic times, Sky stands well placed to continue to grow in the future,as an increasing number of customers across Germany and Austria recognize the great value that Sky delivers. With our combination of exciting entertainment, cutting-edge innovation and dedication to high-quality service, we continue to give more people more reasons to choose Sky.”
Net customer growth in the third quarter was 98,000 (Q3 2010: 45,000), bringing the total number of customers to 2,857,000 (Q3 2010: 2,521,000). Over the first nine months of 2011, net growth amounted to 204,000, which is an increase of 153,000 compared to the same period in 2010. Gross additions for the third quarter amounted to 188,000 (Q3 2010: 161,000).
Quarterly annualized churn decreased to 12.7% (Q3 2010: 18.5%), and the 12-month rolling churn rate to 11.0% (Q3 2010: 18.9%).
Revenues in Q3 2011 grew by 17.0% to €284.5 million (Q3 2010: €243.2 million) while total costs excluding depreciation remained broadly flat at €303.1 million (Q3 2010: €298.1 million). In combination, these developments drove a 66.2% improvement in EBITDA to negative €18.6 million (Q3 2010: negative €54.9 million). Net income improved by 47.4% to negative €46.9 million (Q3 2010: negative €89.3 million).
Subscription revenues continued to be the key revenue driver. An increase of 18.1% to €260.7 million (Q3 2010: €220.8 million), was supported by higher subscriber numbers, as well as an increase in ARPU to €30.94 (Q3 2010: €29.45).
The number of customers with Sky Premium HD packages increased by 103,000 in the quarter to a total of 818,000 (Q3 2010: 460,000), taking the penetration rate to 28.6% (Q3 2010: 18.2%).
Including the free Sky Welt HD customers, the total number able to watch Sky’s market leading HD service increased to over 1.4 million. With the recent addition of Fox HD and NatGeo Wild HD, Sky now offers over 40 HD channels with more to come.
Over the past months, Sky has entered additional partnerships including an agreement with cable provider UPC Austria, a marketing partnership with Telefónica Germany on a mutual triple play offering, and an extension of the existing cooperation with Kabel BW.