BSkyB subscribers reach 1 million

BRITISH PAY-TV giant BSkyB is expected to report next week that it has signed up more than a million digital TV subscribers as its SkyDigital tally eclipses a sharp drop in profits. BSkyB, 40-percent-owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, is expected to announce that subscribers surpassed the million mark milestone by the end of July, less than a year after its launch.

Analysts believe Sky's results will also show that pre-tax profits dropped to pounds 62m-pounds 84m for the year to June from pounds 271m due to digital investments.