Sky Italia edges closer to five million subs

News Corp-owned Italian pay-TV operator Sky Italia reported third quarter operating income of US$63m (€47m), a decrease of $340m year-on-year but an increase of US$53m on the previous quarter. The operator reported net subscriber additions of 290,000 over the past 12 months, bringing its subscriber base to 4.8 million at the end of March.

News Corp said local currency revenue growth of 7% was more than offset by increased operating expenses associated with higher subscriber volume, increased marketing and sports rights costs.

News Corp’s overall third quarter net income remained flat at US$2.7bn. During the quarter, the company recorded a net gain of US$1.2bn on the partial sale of its stake in conditional access company NDS and a further US$1.2bn from a favourable tax settlement. Excluding the one-time gains, News Corp’s operating income fell by 47% in the quarter to US$755m from US$1.4bn in the same quarter last year.