BSkyB's profits and growth in new subscribers have increased beyond analysts' forecasts.
The broadcaster has reported a pretax figure, before exceptionals, of £176 million sterling in its first quarter. Over the same period - the three months to September 30th - it added some 62,000 subscribers - taking its total to 7.4 million.
Revenues rose by some 11 per cent to £940 million; city observers had expected the company to unveil a profit figure of around £170 million.
The 62,000 increase in subscriber numbers was against an average forecast of 51,000. However, it compared to 81,000 the previous quarter and 170,000 12 months before.
Average revenue per user was £377 and the churn rate - the proportion of those cancelling their subscriptions after a period - was 9.8 per cent.