BSkyB makes huge profit and does a deal with HBO

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) is one company not struggling in the economic downturn. In results published this morning, the satellite broadcaster reported a profit of £878 million for the year ending June 30, dwarfing the £259 million for the previous year.

Revenue was up by more than 10 per cent - £5.9bn for the year, compared to £5.4bn the previous year. This was thanks mainly to the company attracting 429,000 HD customers between April and June alone – for the World Cup - most of whom were already Sky subscribers.

The broadcaster also netted 90,000 new subscribers during the fourth quarter. It now has a total of 9.86 million subscribers.
 
There was more good news for shareholders with the news that BSkyB has signed a deal with American broadcaster Home Box Office (HBO) for the rights to broadcast its entire catalogue in Britain. HBO is responsible for such shows as The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and The Wire.

The five-year deal is a major coup for BSkyB in its drive to attract more subscribers who are interested in non-sport programmes.

According to the Guardian, Sky’s first opportunity to showcase its HBO partnership will come in the early autumn when it broadcasts Martin Scorsese's 1920s gangster drama Boardwalk Empire, shortly after its airs in the US in September.

The timing of the HBO deal could hardly have been neater, coming a week after Express Newspapers owner Richard Desmond bought the UK television broadcaster Five. He's said to have an annual programming budget of around £165m - peanuts compared to the £1.7bn that BSkyB plans to spend on programming this year. ·