With BSkyB doing so well in the United Kingdom, its Irish arm is sometimes overlooked. But, the Irish satellite broadcaster is putting pressure on cable TV players and is showing healthy subscriber numbers in Ireland. In the UK, BSkyB has blazed a trail with over 6 million subscribers. In Ireland the numbers are also showing some positive signs.

In an interview with Interspace, Mark Deering, the managing director of BSkyB Ireland, said that he was optimistic that his company would continue on its upward curve. “Consumer demand remains strong and we are confident that we can maintain a healthy rate of growth. Whilst we do not publish separate ARPU [average revenue per user] figures for Ireland, Irish ARPU is broadly comparable to that in the UK, GBP347 ($555.1) per annum, less the interactive revenues, since interactive services have only just been launched in Ireland. We hope that this Irish ARPU will continue to grow.”

BSkyB Ireland had 255,000 subscribers at the end of September. This compares to 193,000 subscribers at the same stage in 2001.

The Irish unit also has a similar churn rate to its UK counterpart. “At 10 per cent churn in the UK, Sky has one of the lowest churn rates for a pay-TV platform in Europe. Whilst we do not publish individual figures for the UK and Ireland, the Irish churn rate is broadly comparable to the UK rate,” Deering said.

But, while BSkyB continues its progress in Ireland, the Irish market is markedly different from the UK market in some areas. “Unlike the UK, over 50 per cent of Irish homes have had access to multichannel television via cable/MMDS [fixed wireless] for many years now. Adding Sky’s direct to home penetration of Irish homes, over 20 per cent, it means that two thirds of Irish homes now have access to 14 or more channels. The absence, as yet, of a DTT platform is another difference, as is the powerful position enjoyed by cable/MMDS companies in Ireland compared to satellite,” Deering said.

Deering sees the threat posed by cable players as significant, despite any potential balance sheet issues they may face. “The competitive threat from cable in Ireland is a real one. Whilst Sky is the leading digital platform, NTL and Chorus are rolling out their digital services throughout the country. Their existing analogue customer base and growing digital customer base allied to their potentially powerful tripleplay offering means that there is significant competition in the marketplace. But we are confident that the value, quality and breadth of our offering provides an attractive proposition to both existing and potential customers.”

NTL aims to provide stiff competition in the pay-TV arena, adding significantly to its channel line-up. NTL’s digital TV packages are also priced competitively. Its current digital TV package comprises over 40 channels at just under 13 euros ($13.8) a month. It also plans to deploy Liberate 1.2 middleware in 2003 to boosts its interactive offerings.

BSkyB Gets Interactive

BSkyB also hopes to capitalise on the growth of interactive TV services. It launched the first national interactive digital TV service in Ireland at the end of 2002. Irish viewers will be able to use a number of interactive services and BSkyB clearly hopes this will have a positive impact on ARPU.

While the Irish market is relatively small compared to the UK, it is nevertheless and interesting one particularly to see NTL and BSkyB go head to head on two fronts. As BSkyB builds up this operation it will be interesting to see whether the Irish market will prove similar to the UK, or whether the cable players can have more of an impact in Ireland in terms of pay-TV than they have had in the UK so far.

–Mark Holmes

BSkyB Interactive Services Include:

• Play games including; Space Invaders, Worms and Super Breakout
• E:mail friends and family using Yahoo and Talk21
• Purchase mobile ringtones
• Bet on sporting events using Sky Bet or Blue Square
• Respond to quizzes, votes and interactive adverts