Subscribers tuning into BSkyB

JAMES Murdoch kept fans happy and silenced his detractors at BSkyB today with first-quarter subscriber numbers well ahead of most City forecasts.

Sky shares led the FTSE 100 risers, soaring 28p or 5% to 560p as the chief executive said the group 'expects to benefit from seasonally strong additions in the run-up to Christmas'.

Sky added a net 62,000 subscribers in the traditionally weak July-to-September quarter, above the City's consensus of between 40,000 and 50,000.

It takes the subscriber total to 7.4m against 7m a year ago. Murdoch said this meant Sky was still on track to hit its 8m target by the end of 2005.

Average annual revenue per customer rose £11 to £377. It should go up more quickly in the current quarter, following price rises on 1 September.

The second quarter will also benefit from a massive advertising campaign pointing out that Sky is more than football, and the launches of the Sky+ 160 box and the £150 pre-paid starter packs being sold in the likes of Tesco and Woolworths.

First-quarter revenue rose 11% to £940m and pre-tax profits grew 16% to £147m.

Murdoch junior and his father Rupert were braced to face shareholders at today's annual meeting with some investors unhappy at a share buyback plan they see as a way for News Corporation to take creeping control. If today's vote goes through, News Corp's stake could rise from 35% to 37%.