Sky Italia aims for 20 new HD channels in June

Satellite pay-TV service Sky Italia is set to add around 20 high definition channels in June. This comes as parent company News Corp beat expectations for its third quarterly financial results, despite Sky Italia’s US$28m (€21.6m) drop in revenues to US$35m.

Deputy chairman Chase Carey said: “Sky Italia has clearly gone through a tough stretch. There’s been a number of factors including the tax that was thrown at it. We’ve also got a competitor [Mediaset] that we didn’t have before.”

News Corp saw revenues rise from US7.37bn to US$8.79bn as well as a 19% rise in profits to US$839m. Much of this is attributed to the success of James Cameron’s blockbuster 3D feature Avatar as well as the success of Fox News Channel.

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch also hinted at a new film and TV subscription service for applications such as Apple’s iPad. “We’re developing an innovative subscription model that will deliver digital content to consumers wherever and whenever they want it,” he said.

 

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