Sky Ireland has pushed the number of subscribers to its digital TV service to almost 280,000, but there are increasing signs that growth may be slowing, writes Emmet Oliver.
The absence of UTV and Channel 4 from Sky's digital package is regarded as a substantial constraint on future growth in the Republic.
However, Sky managing director Mr Mark Deering has said he hopes the two channels will be available in the near future.
Sky Ireland now has 279,000 digital subscribers, compared to 272,000 at the close of 2002. The size of its subscriber base makes it a major TV player, although cable operators like NTL have more subscribers to their ordinary cable service.
An increase of 7,000 is the lowest recorded since Sky released figures on digital take-up in the Republic. In the corresponding period in 2002 the company managed to add 12,000 new customers.
The company's customer base tends to have a rural bias, although it is increasingly trying to make inroads into the Dublin market.
It is also laying heavy emphasis at present on its Sky Plus package, which allows viewers to record their favourite TV programmes and play them later.
The company is competing with NTL and Chorus (who also offer digital television), but unlike those two companies it is not regulated in the Republic by ComReg.
Sky Ireland is a subsidiary of BSkyB, which yesterday announced a sharp rise in profits for the third quarter of the year as it added another 150,000 subscribers (including the Irish ones) to its satellite service, bringing it closer to its target of seven million.
The company has taken the total number of subscribers to its digital satellite service to 6.71 million at the end of March, a performance it said put it "comfortably on track" to meet its target by the end of 2003.
However, in a further sign that the digital satellite market may be approaching saturation point, the number of new customers fell some way short of the 240,000 acquired during the second quarter, between October and December.
This has been blamed on the decline in the number of ITV Digital desertions. Analysts said viewers who wanted to move their custom elsewhere after the collapse of the ITV network were now fully absorbed into Sky's subscriber numbers.
