Advanced Television

Sky Deutschland record customer growth

April 21, 2015

Sky Deutschland delivered record customer growth in Q3 2014/15. The number of direct subscribers for the German pay-TV provider increased by 103,000, which is 61 per cent above the previous year’s period. At the end of March, the total number of direct subscribers reached 4,225,000, representing an increase of 494,000 subscribers over the last 12 months – the highest year-on-year growth in the history of the company. Supported by the continued take-up of two year contracts, customer loyalty improved significantly with the 12-month rolling churn rate dropping to 8.4 per cent.

During the quarter, total revenues grew to €455 million (from €421 million in the same quarter last year). Subscription revenues were the key driver, up 9 per cent to €419 million, driven by accelerated new customer additions and the continued strong performance on churn. Total costs excluding depreciation went up by 1 per cent to €433 million. This reflects the planned step up in costs related to the enhanced Bundesliga rights, offset by the shift of two Bundesliga match-days from Q3 into Q4 this fiscal year as well as by the change in estimates in programming costs. As a result, EBITDA for Q3 2014/15 amounted to €22 million, which is an improvement of €31 million year-on-year.

Brian Sullivan, CEO of Sky Deutschland commented: “Sky’s constant focus on customers has once again driven record growth and a strong set of results. With almost half a million net new customers joining in the last 12 months Sky is becoming a must have for anyone who loves great entertainment, and the potential keeps growing. I am incredibly proud of what our team has delivered, and it’s just getting started.”

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