British satellite television firm BSkyB, which is not regulated in the Republic, added 10,000 Irish customers in the three months to the end of September.
The firm, which is part-owned by international media magnate Mr Rupert Murdoch, said it now had 255,000 customers, or a quarter of all Irish households.
The figures confirm BSkyB has leapfrogged Chorus Communications to become the second-biggest Irish pay-TV company. Figures published recently by the telecoms regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, show Sky's rivals NTL and Chorus have about 370,000 and 240,000 subscribers respectively.
NTL and Chorus have lobbied to ease the level of regulation in the Irish market because they say Sky is not regulated here and enjoys an unfair advantage.
Both cable firms face a strict price cap and must pay 3.5 per cent of revenues to the regulator because they are Irish-based, whereas Sky, based in Luxembourg, is not regulated by the Irish telecoms watchdog and can raise prices when it chooses.
Sky is opposing Ms Doyle's attempts to bring the firm under her regulatory control using new European legislation.
The strong operating performance of BSkyB in the Irish market was mirrored in Britain, where it added more than 200,000 satellite customers. BSkyB beat analysts' expectations with a pre-tax profit of £43 million (€67.5 million) in the three months to the end of September, compared with a £23 million loss a year ago. Growth was boosted by the start of the football season - a mainstay of Sky's sports coverage - and customers moving from ITV Digital, a rival whose subscription services closed this year.
Sky's strong performance in the Republic, where it introduced digital television in 1998, continues to undermine the prospects for the establishment of a similar digital terrestrial television service. A Government-backed process to license a firm to operate a nationwide digital service was recently abandoned when the sole bidder withdrew its licence application.
The Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, is reviewing the prospects for setting up an Irish digital terrestrial TV service. He is also involved in a protracted dispute with Sky over the right to broadcast Irish soccer matches.
