Satellite broadcaster Sky saw Irish customer numbers rise by 21,000 in the final quarter of 2005 - the company's strongest performance in four years.

The figures, covering the three months to December 31st, show subscriber numbers growing by 5.6 per cent, to a total of 393,000. The company said its service was now present in 28 per cent of all households.

A significant marketing campaign during the period helped grow the subscriber base, the company acknowledged.

"Sky Ireland's strong performance reflects several million euro in increased marketing investment in the six months ended December 31st, 2005," said a statement.

Across the UK and the Republic, the total number of subscribers climbed by 215,000 in the quarter to reach 8,059,000 at year end. Some 16 per cent of subscribers now have the Sky+ product, the company said. This product is a form of personal video recording device.

BSkyB, which owns the Sky brand, remains on track to achieve its target of 10 million digital subscribers in 2010.

"As the leading digital television provider in Ireland, Sky is well positioned to take advantage of new technologies to offer its customers even greater control and flexibility through a range of new services," the company claimed. It pointed to new broadband and mobile offerings for instance.

In the first half of 2006, Sky will launch high definition television (HDTV) services for the first time, featuring movies, sports, entertainment, documentary and arts channels with enhanced picture and sound quality.

Delia Bushell, managing director, Sky Ireland, said the company was well positioned in 2006 to continue its growth.

In Britain yesterday, BSkyB was predicting a slowdown in subscriber growth in the first six months of 2006. In an unusual forecast, the company said it was planning to add about 100,000 new subscribers by the end of June - compared with 178,000 over the same period last year and 272,000 in the latter half of 2005.

Sky is concentrating on three key operational tasks in the first half of this year - the development of high definition TV, the launch of its broadband service, and introducing a new customer relations system.

That means leaving its main marketing push to the second half of the year, traditionally a strong time for Sky, covering the start of the football season and leading up to the retail frenzy of the pre-Christmas period.

Sky needs to average 400,000 net subscriber additions a year to meet its target of 10 million subscribers by 2010.