Over the course of the first quarter of 2013, Sky D’s customer base grew by 42,100 (Q1 2012: 72,700) to 3,405,100 (Q1 2012: 3,084,900).
Gross additions were 137,300 (Q1 2012: 155,100) with the quarterly annualized churn rate at 11.3% (Q1 2012: 10.8%) and the 12-month rolling churn rate at 12.0% (Q1 2012: 11.3%)..
Sky Premium HD continued to see a quarterly increase of 99,300 customers to 1,613,400 (Q1 2012: 1,071,000), meaning that almost half of all Sky customers (47.4%) now take Sky’s Premium HD offering (Q1 2012: 34.7%).
After adding “Syfy HD”, “13th Street HD” and “E! Entertainment HD”, Sky’s HD offer today includes up to 65 channels, with more to come.
Sky+ take-up reached a new milestone with a total of 1,064,800 customers (Q1 2012: 507,600) now enjoying the convenience and flexibility of the hard disk recorder/receiver.
During Q1 2013, the number of Sky+ homes increased by 136,000. That means almost one in three customers (31.3%) now experience the great entertainment choice that Sky+ offers (Q1 2012: 16.5%).
Sky Zweitkarte (second smartcard) customers rose by 28,400 to 374,600 (Q1 2012: 215,800).
Sky Go, the over-the-top pay-TV service, saw a total of 15.2 million customer sessions – an increase of 3.2 million over the quarter.
Sky D’s EBITDA improved by €46.4 million to €5.8 million (Q1 2012: negative €40.6 million). Total revenues rose by 14.3% to €364.0 million (Q1 2012: €318.4 million), while average revenue per user (ARPU) climbed by €1.39 to €33.15.
Total costs excluding depreciation were €358.2 million (Q1 2012: €359.0 million). In January, Sky concluded a new comprehensive financing structure, which provides long-term security and financial flexibility for the continued execution of Sky’s growth strategy.
“Sky had a great start to 2013, with strong subscriber and product growth, record viewership, and a significant improvement in our financial performance, including a positive EBITDA result,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO of Sky Deutschland, in a statement.
“We also continued to position the business for the long term, completing agreements with key content partners and major network operators, as well as concluding our new long-term financing structure. Most importantly, we further enhanced our offering for customers through the addition of top quality HD channels, more exciting product innovations, and further investments in our award winning customer service. This constant focus on customers is at the core of our business, and is responsible for our growing appeal across Germany and Austria.”
