BSkyB profits increased 17% in the year ending June 30, boosted by high demand for its broadband service, in what the company is describing as a record quarter. BSkyB's pre-tax profits rose to GBP1.19bn (USD1.8bn) during the period, fuelled by a 57,000 rise in subscribers to its Sky cable service that means some 10.6m households in the UK now pay for its service. Revenues for the full year climbed 3% from GBP6.6bn (USD10.2bn) to GBP6.8bn (USD10.5bn), boosted by strong ratings for football games and hit programmes such as Game of Thrones.

This comes as BSkyB reveals it will target the likes of Netflix with its own movies streaming service. The firm says it is now planning to plough GBP30m (USD46.48bn) into Now TV online service that users can stream to desktop computers and mobile devices. The firm is also investing GBP6.5m (USD10m) in video streaming firm Roku as part of a deal to roll out its new service, which will include sports, film and entertainment channels, although terms were not disclosed.