Sky Deutschland Cuts Losses, Boosts Revenue

COLOGNE, Germany - News Corp.-controlled German pay TV group Sky Deutschland continues its slow but steady march towards break-even with Q2 figures that show losses down by half and double digit revenue growth.

Sky posted sales of $394 million (€277 million) in Q2, a 17.2 percent year-on-year boost, while operating losses (EBIDTA) were down 50.1 percent over the same period.

Sky also added subscribers, albeit at a sluggish pace, with 33,000 new contracts signed in Q2. In total Sky Deutschland has added a net 106,000 subscribers so far this year for a total of 2.76 million customers.

That's still far behind News Corp's pay TV operations in the smaller markets of Italy and the U.K.

And while its numbers are improving, Sky Deutschland still booked a net loss of $76 million (€53.6 million) in the second quarter, down some 35 percent from this time last year, but still significant.