BSkyB confident on viewer targets

BSkyB is appealing against a ruling on its ITV holding

UK broadcaster BSkyB said it made a loss in the third quarter of its financial year of �118m ($234m).

BSkyB also said it signed 56,000 new customers in the quarter, and was on track for 10 million customers by 2010.

It has 8.9 million pay TV subscribers, of whom 1.4m also take its broadband and 1m take telephony services.

BSkyB also logged an impairment charge of �474m relating to the group's investment in ITV, covering the nine month period to 31 March.

Operating profits for the nine months to March 31 were down �36m to �521m, partly due to the additional cost of its new Premier League football contract, which kicked in this season.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owns a 39% stake in BSkyB.

In February, business secretary John Hutton ordered the company to cut its ITV holding to 7.5%, and BSkyB is now appealing against that decision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

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