The last twelve months on and off screen have been the most exciting in the history of Sky in Germany and Austria. Demand for Sky is growing every day. As you can see from today’s results, we now have a record 4.6 million customers with more than 8 million products. However there is lots more we can do as we look to convert the millions of households in Europe’s biggest TV market to join Sky.

Our success so far is a result of our clear strategy. Our focus has been on broadening both what we offer on screen and as well as the range of products and services we provide.

On screen we have further improved what has traditionally been seen as our core proposition, sports. Sky Sports in Germany and Austria extended its market leadership, securing 93 percent of the games exclusively in the recent Bundesliga auction. Once more and into the next decade this confirms Sky as the home of football. We will also bring Sky Sport News HD free to air to extend the reach of our brand and better capitalise on it.

However we have also developed a broader entertainment proposition with more shows, movies and channels following the mantra of “Something for every household and for everyone in that household.” Just recently we added Sky Arts HD and soon Sky Cinema Family HD will become part of our movies service. And just today we announced that we will launch our new flagship entertainment channel, Sky 1, in November. As well as bringing customers the best shows from around the world such as The Tunnel, Hooten & the Lady, 24 – Legacy and the exclusive premieres of the new episodes of Twin Peaks it means we can create our own portfolio of entertainment programmes.

Filming will soon be underway on a new German version of Masterchef which is one of the biggest shows for Sky in Italy. There are more entertainment shows planned and we are scaling up our original drama productions for Sky Atlantic HD. Filming has already started on what is Germany’s biggest ever drama series, Babylon Berlin, set in the 1920s and from Hollywood director Tom Tykwer. And we have lots more in the pipeline including a series sequel of the highly acclaimed Oscar-nominated classic Das Boot.

The launch of Sky 1 follows the successful arrival of Sky Arts HD in Germany and Austria. It means that Sky now has a market-leading arts offer in every territory. We are working with colleagues across Europe on new programming through the Sky Arts Production Hub in Milan. This week, we are thrilled to be at the world renowned Bayreuth Festival. For the first time in its history, Richard Wagner’s iconic Ring Cycle will be broadcasted live and in HD with Sky Arts granted exclusive access, so Sky customers across Europe will be able to enjoy this 16-hour masterpiece.

This expansion of entertainment builds on the success of our new Entertainment pack. Already half of the new customers who have joined Sky took it. It brings together a host of live channels, box sets, catch-up TV and services, including the new Sky Kids app. Developed in the UK, it is helping keep kids entertained in Sky homes across Germany and Austria – and their parents happy.

As well as the excitement of all the great shows, part of the success of the pack is its huge content library. Customers, especially younger ones, love the flexibility of being able to enjoy all their favourite shows whenever and wherever they want. Over one million Sky homes have already connected their boxes to the internet to access on demand content, with more joining every day.

Behind the scenes, through a relentless focus on innovation we are broadening our range of products and services. It means we can offer more value and choice, and open up Sky to whole new groups of customers.

Following the motto “Sky for everyone” we recently launched our new streaming service Sky Ticket based on the success of NOW TV in the UK and Italy, in giving customers flexible, contract-free access to Sky. On the platform front, we are introducing our new set top box, Sky+ Pro, which will be Ultra HD ready. Like Sky Q in the UK & Ireland, this will be the best TV experience available in the market.

And there are even more amazing new programmes and products in the pipeline, including the launch of Sky Store next year. It looks like the 12 months ahead promise to be even more exciting and rewarding. Never before have I been more optimistic about the future of Sky here and across Europe.