One in four Irish households now subscribe to Sky Digital, the satellite platform operated by the British television firm BSkyB.
The company's third quarter results published yesterday show 355,000 households have signed up for its satellite service, an increase of 8,000 subscribers on the previous three-month period.
The rise in subscribers means that BSkyB is at least temporarily the biggest pay television operator in the State. NTL Ireland, which is due to post results later this month, currently has about 348,500 subscribers and would need to add another 7,000 to keep its top position.
However, the proposed merger of NTL Ireland and Chorus should create a firm with in excess of 550,000 customers this year.
BSkyB also confirmed yesterday that it plans to launch high-definition television in the Republic sometime in 2006. High-definition television offers subscribers better picture quality than currently available.
The annualised average revenue per user in the quarter for BSkyB's 7.7 million British and Irish subscribers was £382 (€560.50). It is understood Irish subscribers spend slightly less than their British counterparts.
However, it is likely that the company now generates annual revenue in excess of €180 million.
The results for the BSkyB group show pretax profits excluding goodwill and exceptional items for the three months to March 31st rose to £209 million (€307 million) from £135 million (€198 million) a year earlier.
