Sky Deutschland results demonstrate pay satellite volatility

The latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media shows that revenues from pay DTH services in Europe will continue their slow upward trajectory for the next five years and top US$20 billion by 2016.

Europe, DTH revenues, 2011-2016 (US$ mil.)

According to Adam Thomas, Informa’s Media Research Manager “While DTH revenues continue to grow, the rate of growth is expected to be slower than in previous years. Much of satellite’s historic revenue increases have come from the premium sector. But, going forwards, the growth of low-cost rivals will put some downwards pressure on ARPU and so restrict revenue growth.”

Turning to Sky Deutschland’s financial results, announced today, Thomas added: “Sky Deutschland’s impressive results show that it continues to benefit from News Corp’s long experience of running successful pay TV operations.“

“But the company doesn’t possess a magic wand. In recent weeks, its stable-mate BSkyB reported only a fairly modest quarterly subscriber increase in the UK, while its Italian counterpart shed more than 80,000 customers. This clearly demonstrates that economic conditions continue to inject volatility into these markets, with a potentially significant impact on customer bases.”