SKY Italia subscribers down 27,000 in 2Q 2013

Tuesday, August 6th, 2013
SKY Italia logo

NEW YORK, NY — Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (“21st Century Fox” or the “Company” — NASDAQ: FOXA, FOX; ASX: FOXLV, FOX) today reported financial results for the three months and full year ended June 30, 2013.

Direct broadcast satellite television

Full Year Segment Results

DBS generated annual segment OIBDA of $397 million, compared with prior year OIBDA of $561 million. The decline was driven by lower contributions from SKY Italia reflecting increased programming expenses, including approximately $150 million of rights costs primarily associated with the broadcast of the Olympics and expanded UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Formula One coverage. This decline was partially offset by the consolidation of Sky Deutschland results, following the Company’s acquisition of an additional 5% ownership stake in this entity in January 2013. Revenues increased $699 million versus a year ago, reflecting the inclusion of Sky Deutschland revenues, which were partially offset by lower revenues from SKY Italia. Local currency revenue at SKY Italia declined slightly from the prior year.

Fourth Quarter Segment Results

DBS generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $156 million, compared with prior year quarterly OIBDA of $168 million. This decline reflects lower contributions from SKY Italia due to higher programming expenses and lower revenues, partially offset by the consolidation of Sky Deutschland results. The increased programming expenses at Sky Italia included approximately $35 million of rights costs primarily associated with Formula One and expanded UEFA Champions and Europa League coverage. Segment revenues increased $431 million versus the same period a year ago, reflecting the inclusion of Sky Deutschland revenues. Sky Deutschland grew net subscribers by 48,000 during the quarter, bringing total direct subscribers to 3.45 million. Quarterly local currency revenue at SKY Italia declined slightly from the corresponding period of the prior year, reflecting lower subscription, activation and advertising revenues. SKY Italia experienced a net reduction of 27,000 subscribers during the quarter, bringing total subscribers to 4.76 million.

SKY Italia subscribers:

                2013                                        2012
           --------------------  ------------------------------------------
                  2Q         1Q         4Q         3Q         2Q         1Q
           ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
Total      4,760,000  4,780,000  4,830,000  4,860,000  4,900,000  4,940,000
Net Adds    (27,000)   (51,000)   (28,000)   (40,000)   (42,000)   (86,000)