NEWS - Over 2 million now have Sky+

Sky has revealed its third quarter results, showing over 2 million of its customers now have its personal video recorder, Sky+.

The company added 199,000 customers to the service, bringing the total to 2.167 million, 25% of the Sky customer base.

Overall the company saw net additions of 51,000 customers, a rise of 28% year-on-year to 8.49 million.

Though its "See, Speak, Surf" promotion added 340,000 customers in the third quarter, its churn rate - the percentage of customers leaving Sky - leapt from 11.9% to 13.7%.

Despite this, its Arpu - the average revenue per user - grew by £12 over the quarter and £11 over the year, to £406.

Sky's quarterly pre-tax profits fell 8.7% year-on-year to £556 million, with losses of £137 million at its broadband division, but revenues surged by 10% to £3.38 million.

Sky HD subscribers have grown to 244,000 within 10 months, with a third quarter growth of 60,000. Around 17% of recent HD customers are new Sky customers.

Brian Sullivan, managing director, Sky Customer Group, said: "We've never had a stronger product range and never experienced such broad demand. Sky's connecting more and more customers to the amazing picture quality of HD and personalised control over great TV choice."

Around 90% of programmes commissioned by Sky One and Sky Arts are expected to be made in HD in 2007/2008.