The lure of the Ryder Cup to millions of golf fans worldwide helped broadcaster BSkyB to a strong operational and financial performance in the latest quarter.
The company which employs about 6,500 staff at Sky contact centres in Dunfermline, Uddingston and Livingston delivered a 6% increase in revenue to £1.9 billion in the three months to September 30, and an 11% increase in adjusted operating profit to £316 million.
There was also an 8% increase in adjusted earnings per share to 14.1p.
Quarterly profits more than doubled on broad demand for pay TV and broadband services across Europe.
With 760,000 new paid-for subscription products, the company reported more than six million TV customers connected.
The firm said the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles was the “standout event” of the period, with the golfing showcase spawning more than 330 hours of programming across Sky’s platforms and 36 hours of live in-play coverage.
The company said its dedicated Ryder Cup channel broke records with more than 4.1 million viewers tuning in, with the final day’s play as Europe sealed victory being the single most watched event on Sky that day.
Revenue at Sky Store more than doubled in the period, while Now TV Sports transactions trebled year on year.
AdSmart revenues were also up 48% on the prior quarter, and the broadcaster said progress was being made with creating a world-class multi-national pay TV business.
Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: “We have made a strong start to the year.
“After a year of investment we are seeing the returns coming through, with good top-line growth of 6% translating into an 11% increase in profits.
“This strong financial performance was fuelled by continued operating momentum. We are seeing broad customer demand for our products, whilst opening up new revenue opportunities.
“In all, we added 760,000 new paid-for products, 8% more than the previous quarter.
“The investments that we have made in new connected TV services are delivering growing benefits to our business. We extended our lead as the UK’s largest connected TV platform, surpassing six million connected homes.”
The firm, whose largest shareholder is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, also reported it was making good progress with its proposed acquisition of Sky Italia and a majority stake in Sky Deutschland.