BT added 22,000 video customers in the first half of 2017. Sky added 75,000 customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the same period. Both companies reported significantly slower growth in the second quarter than the same period the previous year and on an annual basis.
BT gained 8,000 television subscribers in the second quarter of 2017, compared to 59,000 in the same period the previous year. BT restated its numbers for the previous quarter, taking its total to 1.76 million. The quarterly increase was the lowest since 2014.
BT gained 138,000 television customers in 12 months, compared to 418,000 in the preceding 12 months.
All customers have now been migrated from the legacy BT Vision platform to YouView.
BT is bringing its EE acquisition into its consumer business unit but will continue to operate BT, EE and Plusnet as separate brands.
Sky gained 35,000 customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the second quarter of 2017, compared to 93,000 in the same period the previous year. It now has 12.73 million customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, of which 11.40 million are television customers, including NOW TV.
Churn rates have risen to 11.5%, compared to 11.2% the previous year and 9.8% the year before that. The number of wholesale customers fell to 3.62 million, down from 4.07 million the previous year.
Over 12 months, Sky added 280,000 customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, compared to 445,000 in the previous 12 months.
Over a million customers now have the latest Sky Q system, which Sky will be rolling out to Germany, Austria and Italy. It will also launch Sky Q over broadband without the need for a satellite dish. Sky has also announced Soundbox, a soundbar product that will improve the audio experience for television viewers.
Sky Deutschland gained 61,000 in the second quarter, compared to 59,000 a year previously, taking its total to 4.99 million. Churn increased from 9.9% to 12.6%.
Sky Italia reported a quarterly loss of 19,000 television customers, partly due to an on-going dispute with Telecom Italia, having lost 7,000 the previous quarter, taking its total to 4.78 million.
Sky now has 22.5 million retail customers across Europe. Group chief executive Jeremy Darroch reported a 5% increase in comparable annual revenue to £12.92 billion, despite market headwinds. However, operating profit was down 6% at £1.47 billion.
The informitv Multiscreen Index tracks subscriber changes across 100 leading service providers worldwide.