Sky's Successful Satellite Triple Play Hits 1 Million

IanFogg | October 29, 2007, 11:39 AM

Sky's 'See, Speak, Surf' marketing wins: Sky reaches 1 million broadband customers.

But while Sky report that "around 70% of Sky Broadband customers are taking a paid-for [broadband] option", the actual revenue impact will be fairly modest for now. The paid broadband options are only £5 a month or £10 a month incremental.

Much more importantly for Sky is this metric: "Around 30% of customers who have joined Sky Broadband so far are new Sky TV customers."

What of the cable companies that have had a head start of more than five years of marketing triple play, although with much more modest results?

Well, VirginMedia is altering its strategy away from bundles (!), away from pay TV, and instead plans to focus on high speed broadband. This is a sign of weakness from VirginMedia. Their long cherished differentiator of triple play simply isn't unique any more, and as usual, Sky is following through on its stated bundle strategy with tremendous efficiency.

VirginMedia's cable broadband does have some advantages over Sky's DSL, but the cable operator must come much closer to matching Sky's ability to execute on its strategy. Otherwise, Sky will continue to extend its lead.