Bskyb To Launch Digital Satellite Tv

British pay television operator BSkyB said on Wednesday it was pressing ahead with plans to launch a 200-channel digital satellite service in Britain later this year.

BSkyB Deputy Managing Director David Chance said the company would proceed with plans for an autumn 1997 satellite launch despite its new digital terrestrial television (DTT) alliance with leading commercial broadcasters Carlton Communications and Granada Group.

The three have teamed up to form British Digital Broadcasting and apply for licences to run DTT networks when the service comes on air in mid-1998.

Chance said the two delivery systems were each likely to find their place in the market.

 

Its horses for courses. Digital satellite will offer 200 channels and pay-per-view while with digital terrestrial there are only 30 channels but no need for a satellite dish, he said.

BSkyB, in which Rupert Murdochs News Corp is the leading shareholder, earlier said pre-tax profit rose 26 percent to 133.7 million pounds ($214.4 million) in the six months to end-December, up from 106.3 million a year ago. The figures were in line with forecasts.

It reported record subscriber growth of 434,000 in the last three months of last year and now has over six million customers in Britain and Ireland.

Subscribers are switching on to Sky in record numbers, said chief executive and managing director Sam Chisholm.

BSkyB is now extremely well positioned to capitalise on the introduction of digital television and the significant benefits that will flow from this new technology, he added. BSkyB shares, which surged recently on the DTT alliance, continued their ascent on Wednesday, adding 14p to 607p by mid-morning.

Chance also said that BSkyB was still interested in taking a stake in German pay television company Premiere, owned by German media companies Bertelsmann AG and Kirch Gruppe, and Canal Plus of France.

BSkyB appeared set for a 25 percent stake in Premiere early last year but announced in July that it had instead agreed to take up to 49 percent in DF1, Kirchs German digital platform.

However, it has yet to take up its investment in DF1.

Basically we are going through due diligence. We remain optimistic about the situation, Chance said of DF1, adding he would like to see the network end its differences with Premiere.

Kirch is at loggerheads with Premiere partners Bertelsmann and Canal Plus. Both Bertelsmann and the French pay TV group want Premiere, currently an analogue service, to be Germanys main digital television outlet rather than DF1.

DF1 has made a slow start and reports indicate that it has only attracted around 20,000 subscribers.

($1=O.6237 pound)