Sky’s customer relationships have returned to 99.8% of pre-COVID levels, according to parent Comcast.
The platform now has 23.9 million subscribers across the UK & Ireland, Germany & Austria and Italy, an increase of 244,000 on the quarter, but a decrease of 56,000 year-on-year.
Penetration of Sky Q in the UK market has now passed over 60%.
“Sky returned to customer growth in all three of its markets, bringing our total customer relationships and overall revenue in Europe essentially back to 2019 levels,” said Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation. “With the vaccines rolling out throughout the world, we are optimistic that the parts of our business that had been most impacted will soon be back on a path towards growth.”
Sky EBITDA was $139 million as the fourth quarter, as the broadcaster was hit by the shift in sporting events that had earlier been delayed as a result of Covid-19. There were also additional costs relating to the launch of new channels, including Sky Comedy and Sky Documentaries in May.
Revenues increased Sky increased 3.3% to $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, increases om advertising and content revenue compensating for a reduction in ARPU.
For the year to December 31, 2020, Sky revenue decreased 3.3% to $18.6 billion compared to 2019.
With pubs remaining closed and retail activity restricted in the UK at least, Sky is expecting to see a fall in its first quarter revenues.
