Sky Television’s first half profit has dropped sharply as it battles tough competition, forcing it to raise prices.
The network made a net profit of $53.6 million in the six months to December, down about 20 percent on the previous period.
Revenue was down 8.4 percent to $403m.
“Sky continues to operate in a highly competitive and evolving market,” the company said with its result.
It will raise prices for some customers on the sport, entertainment and starter packages in April this year, to make up for the higher cost of programming.
It cited the battle for content rights, naming the telecommunications company Spark which has outbid Sky for major events including for the Rugby World Cup.
“While our preference is always to have the rights to all sports that our customers may wish to watch, it is important that Sky retains a disciplined approach when bidding reaches irrational levels.”
The network posted a loss of $240m last financial year, because of a one-off writedown of an asset value.
It has continued to shed customers, albeit at a slower rate than before, losing 28,455 in the past year.
In addition to competition for sports events Sky TV has been battling video streaming channels such as Netflix.
This story was originally published on Radio New Zealand.
