Sky Italia subs dip; staff cuts likely
September 21, 2020
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Sky Italia subscribers have dropped to 4.6 million, compared to 5 million in the pre-Covid period, according to market figures obtained by business daily Milano Finanza.
The decline is partly down to a lack of live sports events as lockdown measures came in, but also as a result of rampant piracy.
The negative results have prompted CEO Maximo Ibarra to consider a staff rationalisation plan, which would be implemented from January 2021 and would see the loss of 350 jobs out of a workforce of around 4,000.
There is also positive news, as the number of DTT subscribers continues to grow – reaching 600,000, and optical fibre activations are above initial forecasts. DTT ARPU, however, is around €27, compared to an ARPU of €41-€42 for satellite subscribers.
Much of the future strategy will depend on the results of the upcoming Serie A football rights auction for the period 2021-2024.
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