BSkyB eyes expansion into Europe

With profits rising, BSkyB has the option of paying out dividends to shareholders or funding a spending spree in Europe with Canal Plus and Sogecable likely targets

Tony Ball is no stranger to hard decisions. In the four years he has been running British Sky Broadcasting Group's pay-television business, he has knocked out his terrestrial digital competitors, made mincemeat of his cable rivals and made most of his rivals around the world look like comedians. Now he is running what increasingly looks like Europe's most powerful media business. On 12 August, it reported a fifth straight quarterly profit, making £157m ($245m) for the three months ending 30 June, a total that included a £121m tax credit. The profit was a lot higher than most analyst...