LONDON - BSkyB has passed the 9m subscriber mark after it added more than 400,000 taking Sky + and a record number signing up to Sky+ HD service.

Sky has finished the quarter ended September 30 with 9,067,000 customers.

Sky+ HD subscribers grew by 93,000 to 591,000. The company credited growing awareness of HD and availability of content such as the Olympics for the growth, in addition to its price cut on the service by £99 to £150.

Sky’s broadband and telephony services attracted more sign-ups, with broadband now in 20% of Sky homes thanks to 164,000 new customers and telephony in 15% of Sky homes with 120,000 new customers.

Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of Sky, said: “This is a good set of results in a challenging environment. Over nine million customers now enjoy the best in entertainment through Sky and, in tougher times, we’re helping more people to save money on broadband and telephony as well.”

To find out how you can join the growing Sky family give one of our digital experts a call on 0800 1388 388 or click here to compare sky to other suppliers.

Written by chris

Simplifydigital cuts out the legwork and selects the cheapest TV packages for the new football season

With the new season about to kick off and the credit crunch in full swing, football fans need to choose carefully if they are to find the cheapest way to watch football.

There is a feast of football available to watch this season – with domestic, European, and International league and cup games available live, “near live” or as highlights, but it can be expensive. How do you choose the best value package from Sky, BT, Setanta, Tiscali and Virgin Media and avoid the price hikes? From 1 September Sky will be raising the price of subscribing to Sky Sports by £1 (on top of the £1/month increase on the basic package), making the Sports package more costly.

Simplifydigital, the free and impartial sales advisory service for TV, broadband and telephony and the only retailer to be accredited as impartial by Ofcom, has selected the best deals for different types of football fans. Find them direct by calling 0800 1 388 388 or visit www.simplifydigital.co.uk

The Premiership football fan on a budget

If you want a good taste of live Premiership games but want to limit your spend, then Setanta Sports is likely to be the answer for you. The Setanta package shows 46 live Barclays Premiership games through the season with the pick of the games in August including Sunderland v Liverpool on 16^th August and Chelsea v Wigan on 24^th August.

Setanta Sports is available in a number of ways with the cheapest and simplest being the Setanta and Freeview option. For this you will need a Freeview box with a viewing card slot which is £39.99 from Setanta, with the Setanta subscription an additional £10.99 per month. This will give you Setanta Sports Channel 1 only, but it includes all the 46 Premiership games.

There are a couple of other tricks worth knowing. If you are a Virgin Media Customer, Setanta Sports actually comes free with the Size: XL TV package, or costs £9.99/month with the Size: L and Size: M packages. Or if you have a broadband connection at home, you can watch Setanta online for £7.99 per month.

The Scottish football fan

Setanta also is the only option for Scottish football fans. They have bought the rights to show live and exclusive 60 Clydesdale Bank Premier League games, with the highlights in August including Falkirk v Rangers on 9^th August and Hamilton v Dundee on 11^th August.

The Premiership and Champions League football fan

If you are interested in watching a lot of live Premiership football and UEFA Champions League in standard TV format or high definition, then Sky Sports still offers the best option. Sky have the rights to show 92 live Premiership games throughout the season and will show six Champions League games on Tuesdays and all eight games on Wednesdays during the group stages.

All prices as at 30 July (pre Sky September price increase).

As the table above shows, if you are in a Virgin Media area, you can save £90 per year by buying Sky Sports as part of a Virgin Media TV package. Simplifydigital are also offering an exclusive deal of free installation on the V box (a saving of £30). Call 0800 1 388 388 or visit www.simplifydigital.co.uk

For those not in a Virgin Media area, or who simply prefer to subscribe to Sky itself, Simplifydigital also have a great deal of a free Sky+ box when you subscribe to Sky Sports, a saving of £150 on the full price.

The Full Monty football fan

The Full Monty fan who wants to see all the live televised football available across domestic league and Cup competitions, European league and Cup competitions and internationals, needs to subscribe to Sky Sports and Setanta Sports together. This does not come cheap, but there are big variations in price offered by the major providers.

As the table below shows, Sky Sports and Setanta Sports bought through Virgin Media is the best option (for those people in a Virgin Media area), costing £540 per year and is £155.88 per year cheaper than buying the equivalent package from Sky.

All prices as at 30 July (pre Sky September price increase).

Digital TV

Written by matt