Sky on Thursday "blamed football's European Championships and the Rio Olympic Games" for a "slower start" to its new financial year which saw the group add only 106,000 new customers in the last three months, according to David Bond of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Revenues at the European broadcaster increased by 5% on a like-for-like basis to £3.1B ($3.8B) "during the three months to the end of September -- just in line with market expectations." But the rate at which Sky attracted new customers -- particularly in the U.K., which saw an increase of just 35,000 -- "set alarm bells ringing for some analysts and investors." This slowdown was "offset by a better than expected performance in Sky's Italian and German businesses," which the company bought in '14 (FT, 10/13). The BBC reported football as ever "proved an important earner for the company," which said that it had its most watched sports event ever on Sky Sports Italy, which was Italy vs. Germany's Euro 2016 match. In the U.K. and Ireland, Sky said that it "expected the new Premier League season to be its biggest yet." It will "include Friday evening matches for the first time" (BBC, 10/13).
