Sky swells to nearly 2 million

It was exactly a year and a day ago that Sky proudly declared that they had connected their millionth broadband customer, and celebrated the fact in style by hiring seven professional surfers – one to represent each digit – to take to their boards and surf across Fistral Bay in Newquay.

Sky have recently announced that it has nearly doubled that figure, now boasting a customer base of around 1.8 million, thanks to connecting some nine million more digital TV customers despite current economic conditions.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said that Sky had produced “a good set of results in a challenging environment,” citing an interest in its Sky HD+ high definition TV as the prime reason for the growth. This surge in interest has had a spillover effect on the See Speak Surf offering, which sees Sky TV subscribers able to qualify for free broadband – some 20% of customers have reportedly taken up the offer.

Sky said that the “fundamental” reason why customers upgraded to pay-TV was to enjoy a “better choice of quality programming,” including the premium sports packages and entertainment channels such as Sky One.

This all could change however in years to come – Ofcom have recently ruled that Sky should distribute its sports content to rival TV platforms on a wholesale basis, and the word on the street is that the ‘missing channels’ could return to the Virgin Media platform early next year.

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