Sky revenues fall as Europeans opt out amid cost of living crisis

SKY has been rocked by sliding sales as European customers cut their contracts to cope with the soaring cost of household bills.

Revenues at the Gangs of London broadcaster dropped by 14pc to $4.5bn (£3.7bn) for the three months to June, as customers fell by 255,000 to 22.7m over the period.

Sky said the fall in its revenue was partly caused by the “increasing macroeconomic challenge across Europe” and a lacklustre performance in Germany and Italy caused by a pull back from overspending on live sports rights.

Sky’s more prudent approach to sports rights boosted profits by 54pc to $863m over the period after costs fell in part when streaming app DAZN outbid the broadcaster for Serie A matches covering the 2021-2024 seasons in March last year.

The revenue hit came despite a bright performance in the UK, where the pay TV, mobile and broadband provider increased customers and advertising income during the period.

Sky has been pursuing a technological overhaul of the UK market by launching the streaming TV, Sky Glass, late last year that will hasten the end of satellite dish.

A further push into broadband TV is poised to follow in the coming months when it launches Sky Stream, a service that offers all Sky channels and apps over an internet connection.

The products are part of Sky’s attempts to stop customers ditching their subscriptions for cheaper streaming services that come pre-installed on smart TVS.

Sky has been strengthening its position as an aggregator of streaming players by offering subscription packages that include Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime on the Sky Q box.

Sky said that Glass was the UK’S third best-selling TV in the second quarter – but it has yet to reveal sales numbers for the device.