SATELLITE broadcaster BSkyB reported on Tuesday that its first half profits had almost doubled, but news that regulators plan to review its agreement to screen English soccer took the gloss off the performance.
BSkyB, 40 per cent owned by Mr Rupert Murdoch's News International, posted pre tax profits of £106.3 million sterling for the six months to December 31st, 1995, an increase of 93 per cent on the period a year ago.
Earnings per share grew by 70 per cent to 5.6p and BSkyB said it would pay an interim dividend of 2.5p per share.
However, shares fell 14p to 400p after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced it would refer the company's deal to screen English Premier League soccer to Britain's Restrictive Practices Court.
BSkyB and the BBC have a five year agreement with the Premier League which runs until the end of the 1996-97 season.
Under the deal, BSkyB shows exclusive live matches while the BBC puts out a package of highlights in its Match of the Day show on Saturday nights.
The OFT said in December that it was reviewing how BSkyB sells its programmes to rival outlets such as cable franchises.
BSkyB finance director Mr Richard Brooke made no direct comment on the latest OFT announcement.
"Our strategy is to continue to enhance and develop programming which is the key to subscriber growth," he said.
Mr Brooke said that BSkyB was very pleased with the results and with the continued growth in subscribers in a period that includes the key Christmas figures.
"It's the peak selling season with the largest subscriber growth. It determines the revenue base for the following period," he said.
"We had our best ever quarter with the largest number of net new subscribers," he said, of the three months to December 31st.
BSkyB said it had recorded net subscriber growth of 354,000 in the December quarter and that it now had some 5.2 million subscribers, including 450,000 in Ireland. BSkyB will launch a further eight channels this year. BSkyB now offers its subscribers 28 channels and will launch a further eight channels this year as part of a new joint venture with British broadcasting and leisure group Granada.
Granada has a 10.8 per cent stake in BSkyB while France's, Chargeurs is the third main shareholder with some 17 per cent.
Mr Brooke said that BSkyB planned to introduce pay per view services later this year.
"It's part of our plans to introduce pay per view for (sports) events and movies," Mr Brooke said.
