U.K. satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB is closing in on its target of 8 million subscribers by the end of 2005. The operator announced Aug. 3 that it added 83,000 subscribers in the second quarter ended June 30 reaching a total of 7.8 million. In the same quarter in 2004, it added 81,000 and ended the quarter with 7.4 million subscribers.

Its Sky+ PVR (Personal Video Recorder) offering is also edging near the 1 million mark in terms of households. At the end of the quarter, there were nearly 890,000 Sky+ households, representing 11 percent of all its satellite TV subscribers. At the end of the same quarter in 2004, there were nearly 400,000 Sky+ households.