Sky Italia turns loss to profit

Sky Italia managed just 23,000 new subscriber additions during the second quarter, 2012, ending December with 5.03 million customers.

The News Corp-owned DTH operator did, however, post a healthy improvement in its profits due primarily to increased advertising and subscription revenues. Operating income amounted to $6 million (€4.5 million), an improvement of US$18 million versus the $12 million operating loss reported a year ago.

News Corp chief operating officer Chase Carey said, “We successfully tackled the competitive challenge from our major industry competitor as well as a challenging regulatory environment to regenerate growth and excitement in our business.” He added that Sky’s business was “pretty resistant to the economic headwinds but it is not immune. We expect short-term growth to be impacted by Italy’s macro situation but we are extremely bullish on the long-term potential”.

News Corp reported a 2% year-on-year increase in revenues to US$8.98 billion.