Satellite broadcaster BSkyB said today it had doubled profits after hitting a key subscriber target three months early.

The group had set its sights on 315,000 customers using its Sky+ digital TV service by the end of June, but growth since the start of the year meant it now had 322,000 subscribers on its books.

The popularity of the Sky+ boxes, which allow users to pause live TV and record one satellite programme while viewing another, offset slower growth in its direct-to-home service.

BSkyB added 66,000 new customers over the past three months to build a digital subscriber base of 7.3 million after cutting back on marketing.

But a new campaign launched at the end of March meant the group remained on track to achieve its target of eight million direct-to-home satellite subscribers by the end of the current calendar year.

Pre-tax profits of £371 million for the nine months to March 31 were a significant improvement on the £160 million recorded at the same stage of 2003.

Chief executive James Murdoch said: "Sky continues to deliver improvement in its financial performance, and remains on track to hit all operational and financial targets."

Higher prices introduced at the start of January helped BSkyB grow revenues by 16% in the nine-month period to £2.7 billion.

A strong schedule of sports events in the past quarter also lifted the company, with three million viewers tuning in to watch the Champions League quarter-final between Chelsea and Arsenal.

Victory for the England cricket team in the West Indies helped BSkyB record some of its best cricket audiences for two years.

BSkyB, based in Isleworth, Middlesex, said premieres of Spider-Man, 8 Mile and Minority Report enabled its Sky Movies channel to increase its viewing share in UK homes.

During the past nine months, the company spent £80 million more on producing programmes - mainly as a result of buying rights to major sports events. That pushed up its overall programming bill to £1.25 billion.

BSkyB added that its advertising revenues continued to outperform the market with a 9% increase on a year earlier to £223 million.

Wednesday May 12, 2004