MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider Sky has opened the doors to Sky Skills Studios ? a new educational facility which will invite up to 12,000 young people per year to experience the excitement of a behind-the-scenes TV production environment.

Sky Skills Studios will be used by students aged eight to 18, from across the UK and Ireland, and will provide teachers with a relevant and valuable resource free of charge.

The new facility is designed to be a fun and interactive learning experience for students. The aim is for the different and new environment to inspire young people to learn more about TV production, as well as help develop and build important life skills such as creativity, communication, problem solving and team work, whilst also raising their aspirations and career ambitions.

With the launch of Sky Skills Studios, young people will be given the opportunity to write, shoot and edit their own television report in one of four simulated ?live? studio environments, using real-life HD cameras, editing desks, green screens and props. The final reports will then be topped and tailed with clips from Sky presenters.

The three-hour experience will give teachers and students the choice of a range of topic areas to work with, planned around five national curriculum areas (English, Maths, Science, Citizenship and P.E.) at key stage levels 2, 3 and 4.

The new facility was conceived and developed in-house and uses exactly the same broadcast equipment and technology as Sky?s own TV crews, providing a rare practical insight into the world of TV for young people. A dedicated production team is also on hand to provide technical support and help polish the final footage before it is broadcast ?live? to the group.

Sky Skills Studios will be based in Sky Studios, the most sustainable broadcasting facility in Europe. Located in West London, Sky Studios began broadcasting in July 2011 and is home to eight naturally ventilated studios including five HD studios, 45 edit suites, 14 voice-over suites, four audio suites and on site post-production facilities.

Arranged over five levels, with each floor the size of a
football pitch, Sky Studios has been designed so that all of Sky?s sport and news programming can be filmed, edited and transmitted within a single facility. Sky has invested approximately ?233 million in the facility.

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch said, ?Television has always been an exciting industry to work in and is especially appealing to young people. With the opening of our new broadcast facility, Sky Studios, there was a natural opportunity to develop a dedicated studio space for schools, giving pupils the chance to learn more about what happens behind the cameras.

"It?s incredibly important that business plays its part in inspiring and supporting young people in learning more about the world of work and helping them to build valuable life skills.

"We?re really pleased to be opening Sky Skills Studios and I hope the experience will help to expand the horizons of the 12,000 school pupils who come through our doors over the coming months.?

MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider Sky is estimated to support a ?5.4 billion contribution to UK GDP in calendar 2011.

The impact made by Sky on the UK economy is revealed for the first time in an independent study conducted by the leading economic consultancy, Oxford Economics.

The report, The Economic Impact of Sky on the UK, finds that Sky makes a contribution to the economy in terms of GDP, jobs and taxes paid. It also shows how the company has stimulated economic activity in a wide range of associated companies and industries, through relationships with thousands of UK suppliers and business partners. 

In 2011, Sky generated sales of ?6.4 billion and over 75 per cent of this revenue was retained in the UK.

Sky?s direct contribution to GDP of ?2.2 billion is equivalent to around 40 per cent of the contribution made by the entire TV and radio creative sector in the UK.

For every ?1 billion Sky contributes directly to GDP itself, it generates another ?1.4 billion in the rest of the economy through its purchase of goods and services and staff spending their wages.

In 2011 Sky used 4,000 suppliers across the UK, including 645 independent suppliers in sports production and 110 independent producers in entertainment and the arts.

"Sky?s footprint is UK wide and its contribution is felt in almost every part of the country," the report said.

At the end 2011, Sky employed 22,800 people in the UK, more than half as many as the entire pharmaceuticals industry. This included 9,400 people in London, 6,430 in Scotland, and 1,560 in Yorkshire and Humberside.

According to the report, 2,600 people are employed by Sky in producing and commissioning content. This is set to grow as Sky increases its investment in original British content to ?600 million by 2014. By the end of 2011, Sky had already increased its UK content spend to ?450 million a year.

In the last three years, Sky has hired 3,800 young people (16 to 24 years), including nearly 300 graduate trainees and apprentices.

Sky employs 800 engineers in software development and testing, representing 1 per cent of all people employed in the UK?s software development industry.

In total Sky is estimated to support 118,600 jobs in the UK through its procurement of goods and services and consumer spending out of the wage income of its staff. This includes 1.2 per cent of all employment in London and 0.6% of all jobs in Scotland.

The study also pointed out Sky?s contribution to tax revenues. These include:

- In the financial year 2010/2011, Sky directly contributed a total of ?941 million to the Exchequer.

- Of this, ?337 million came through corporation tax and business rates, with the balance collected on behalf of HM Treasury through employees? labour taxes and customers? VAT payments.

- In total, Sky is estimated to support a ?2.3 billion contribution to tax revenues, including Sky?s procurement of inputs and direct and indirect staff spending is included. This is equivalent to ?36 for every person in the UK.

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch said, "We have grown rapidly since our business was established just over 20 years ago. Along the way we have taken risks, invested billions of pounds and been a driving force for innovation and change in our sector. As a result we have transformed UK consumers? experience of television and home communications, while generating significant returns for our shareholders and contributing positively to the UK economy as a whole.

"This report from Oxford Economics measures and explains the scale of our economic impact for the first time. We hope that Sky?s story provides a good example of the important contribution that a successful British company can make, particularly at a time when economic growth is harder to come by. As we look ahead, our appetite to invest remains strong and we hope to contribute even more in the future."
 

MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider BSkyB has posted a revenue of ?3.4 billion for first half of the fiscal ended 31 December 2011, up six per cent over the earlier year.

BSkyB reported its highest ever first-half adjusted operating profit, up 16 per cent to ?601 million.

Efficiency programmes delivered lower operating costs. Adjusted operating margin was up 160 basis points to 17.9 per cent. Adjusted free cash flow was also up by 12 per cent to ?495 million.

BSkyB experienced continued growth in products and customers in the quarter. Total net product grew to 26.8 million, up 13 per cent. It added 100,000 new households to reach 10.471 million customers.

BSkyB said it had a good response to price freeze; customer loyalty was strong in a tough economic environment with
churn of 9.6 per cent. There was also a continued improvement in product mix with more than three million customers taking all three of TV, broadband and telephony, up by 26 per cent year on year. Customers are responding to innovation with 2.5 million users of Sky Go to date.

Plans for 2012: The company is bringing more content for customers, including home grown comedy and drama and a new channel dedicated to Formula 1.

BSkyB has done agreements to add BBC iPlayer and ITV Player to Anytime+. It is also offering free access to 10,000 WiFi hotspots to Sky Broadband Unlimited customers. Fibre broadband will be available to 30 per cent of UK households from April, offering up to 40Mb broadband speeds and unlimited usage for ?20 a month.

BSkyB will also launch a new Internet based pay TV service aimed at new customers. It will create 1,300 Sky jobs across the UK and Ireland over the next two years.

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch said, ?We expect the environment to remain tough in calendar 2012. No consumer business can be immune to these conditions and we will manage any short-term headwinds as they emerge. Staying focused on the long-term opportunity, we?ve got a strong set of plans to keep delivering for customers and shareholders. This will be an outstanding year on screen, including more original British productions and a new channel dedicated to Formula 1, and we have exciting products in the pipeline that will create more ways to access our content and more reasons to join and stay with us.?

The company delivered a strong first half performance with good growth in customers and products and record financial results.

"We saw growth in every product category, with a particularly strong performance in home communications. As a result, customers are now taking an average of 2.6 products, up 13 per cent on last year, and Arpu continues to rise, reaching a new high of ?544," said Darroch.

Outlook: Sky does not expect any material improvement in the macro backdrop in calendar 2012, with strong consumer headwinds anticipated in the early part of the year.

"While remaining cautious in respect of the economic outlook, we continue to expect that the strength and flexibility of our business will deliver further progress. Our growth will stay broadly-based, increasing product penetration and adding new households where it makes sense. We will also continue to invest in core areas for customers and we have a strong set of plans for the year ahead, including more great content, a strong product pipeline and the launch of an entirely new internet based pay TV service aimed at new customers. Alongside that, we will maintain our focus on operating efficiency because this underpins our ability to keep investing for customers," said Darroch.

MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider BSkyB has posted operating profit of ?1.07 billion for the year, up from ?872 million last year.

Revenue stood at ?6.5 billion, up from ?5.7 billion a year ago.

BSkyB has 10.3 million customers with net growth of 40,000 TV customers (DTH) and 31,000 standalone home communications customers in the quarter. Sky+HD customers reach 3.8 million, up 30 per cent year on year. There was growth in all home communications product lines with 2.4 million net additions in the year.

BSkyB chairman James Murdoch said, "We are pleased to announce both a 20 per cent increase in the ordinary dividend and our intention to return ?750 million to shareholders through a share buy-back programme."

BSkyB CEO Jeremy Darroch said that while Sky is not immune to tougher economic conditions, it has continued to see good demand across its product portfolio as customers respond to the great quality and value that is offered. "The performance in home communications was particularly strong as we continue to grow all product lines. Over the year, we increased the number of customers taking all three of TV, broadband and telephony by 37 per cent and extended our potential reach by selling home communications products independently from television for the first time. We now have over 100,000 customers taking standalone broadband and telephony products and we see plenty of scope for continued growth."

BSkyB launched Sky Atlantic HD and Sky Living HD, while extending its leadership in high definition and 3D.

Darroch said that with a consistent strategy and a clear set of priorities, the company is well positioned for the opportunities ahead as it enters the new financial year. While the expectation is that the environment will remain challenging, the company will continue to pursue a balanced approach to growth and returns, based on sensible investment in areas of long-term advantage and a strong focus on operational efficiency.

BSkyB recently announced a price freeze for existing customers across television and home communications packages until at least September 2012.

TV additions for the quarter were 40,000, bringing the total TV base to 10.187 million. Within this loyalty remained stable with churn of 10.4 per cent in the quarter and ARPU increased by six per cent to ?539, benefiting from a higher penetration of additional products. ARPU was ?5 lower than the previous quarter largely due to the unwinding of a VAT benefit as a result of a reduction in the frequency of the customer magazine.

Darroch said that while product growth was broadly based, home communications performed particularly well as more customers saved money by switching their services to Sky. Net product additions across broadband, telephony and line rental increased to 595,000 in the quarter, 27 per cent higher than the prior year.

BSkyB currently has 107,000 standalone home communications customers and, in total, added over 420,000 new households in the year.

The company‘s performance in home communications means the number of customers choosing each of television, broadband and talk has grown by 37 per cent on last year to 2.8 million customers, representing 27 per cent penetration of the base.

"We have continued to extend our broadband network coverage, unbundling 385 additional exchanges in the year, increasing our footprint to around 80 per cent of households in the UK. At the same time, we are improving the economics of our home communications business by migrating more customers to our own network. We now have 1.7 million fully unbundled customers, 51 per cent of our broadband base," said Darroch.

BSkyB closed the quarter with more than 3.8 million high definition (HD) customers, an increase of 30 per cent on last year. In the context of exceptionally strong growth in the prior year following the reduction in the price of the HD box and the Fifa World Cup, net quarterly additions were lower than the prior year at 136,000.

"As penetration of HD-ready sets increases and our HD content offering continues to grow, we see a significant opportunity to continue adding HD customers," Darroch said.

On the sporting front, Sky Sports has achieved record audiences for last season‘s Premier League, with an average audience of 1.4 million viewers per game, 11 per cent higher than last year.

On the technology side, progress is being made in 3D, with Sky 3D channel winning a Bafta award for Sir David Attenborough‘s ‘Flying Monsters‘, the first 3D programme ever to win a Bafta award. Sky 3D also achieved another first when it screened Matthew Bourne‘s production of ‘Swan Lake‘ in conjunction with Sky Arts, the first full-length ballet to be shown in 3D.

"To support and facilitate further innovation and development of 3D content we are today announcing the formation of a new production company with Atlantic Productions, the producers of ?Flying Monsters‘, to develop original 3D programming for UK and international audiences," Darroch said.

In terms of the future, the company will continue to invest in content, giving more people reasons to choose Sky. "In line with this strategy, we have announced plans to increase our investment in UK originated content and production by more than 50 per cent to ?600 million in 2014. This will include weekly, original British comedy in 2011, a threefold increase in hours of original British drama and a tripling of our arts programming budget," Darroch said.