On The Up

SHARES in British Sky Broadcasting rose 15 per cent on Wednesday, their biggest one-day gain ever, and were 21 per cent higher in the week, after the company said its new digital service won more subscribers than forecast. The gains were made despite the fact that the cost of luring customers almost wiped out second-quarter profit.

BSkyB said 350,000 digital subscribers signed up between 1 October and 31 January, of whom 120,000 were new to satellite TV. Profit for the quarter to 31 December fell to pounds 800,000, from pounds 61m a year ago. The company, 40 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is subsidizing satellite- dish installation and set-top decoders for subscribers to SkyDigital.