Over two months into the new season and like many football clubs, we at Sky Sports are assessing our early season form.

You could argue that with the launch of Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports 5, the realignment of our channels and plenty of new rights coming to air, we too are fielding a new formation with plenty of new signings to bed in.

So it’s good to see early season results for Sky Sports have been very positive.  

Last year there was obviously huge attention on the live broadcasting of Premier League football.  We were therefore delighted that 49 of the 50 most watched live matches were on Sky Sports.  And this season that trend has continued.  Already, every one of the top 20 most watched Premier League games have all been live on Sky Sports, reinforcing our message that we offer more of the big games.   

The positive viewer reaction has continued elsewhere on our channels.  Sky Sports News HQ, for example, has seen a 10% increase in year on year ratings.  Viewers are appreciating the editorial changes we’ve made to the channel, the integration of social and digital media and the move to channel 401 on the Sky EPG.  It’s a huge task to remain relevant and engaging in a breaking news environment, but we’ve listened to our audience, adapted the way we report sports news and the early season results already look good.

The Ryder Cup broke all manner of records for us, with more people than ever before enjoying the contest across our TV and digital outlets. By launching a dedicated channel, we offered our viewers a single destination for the biggest event in golf.  More than 4 million viewers watched the channel and 5 million also followed our coverage across our website, apps, social channels and of course Sky Go.  The Ryder Cup was a truly multi-platform experience, a wonderful occasion for every one there and for those following at home and on the move.

The quality of our audience is important too, not just for Sky, but also the governing bodies who we work closely with.   When we study the behaviour of our subscribers, we can see that Sky Sports viewers are hugely passionate and engaged sports fans.  For example, since the start of the season, the average combined audience across all our channels is almost ten times our nearest rival.  Our viewers watch their sport more often and for longer.

So what does this all mean for Sky Sports and importantly our viewers?

I believe it shows they enjoy and appreciate our constant drive for innovation and service, providing viewers even more choice and quality from Sky Sports.  The Ryder Cup channel, dedicating 24 hours of non-stop NFL programming this weekend and introducing Jonny Wilkinson to our rugby line up; we never tire of providing new ways for our customers to enjoy their sport.

And despite a highly competitive marketplace, we've secured 24 major rights agreements in 2014 including a brand new long-term agreement for live ICC cricket announced last week.

Millions of viewers have activated Sky Sports 5 and are enjoying the new football rights on the channel - Euro 2016 qualifiers and Eredivisie - as well UEFA Champions League and other brilliant European football.

All four British teams and the Republic of Ireland have started well, and there is optimism that by this time next year a number of them could be qualifying for the 2016 European Championship in France. If they do, that qualification story will play out on Sky Sports.

It's a really strong start, and I'm delighted the stats seem to show our viewers are enjoying the changes.

As any manager will tell you, however, the trick now is to maintain the momentum.