Sky Profit Rises Despite Rising Costs of Soccer Broadcasting Rights

Sky PLC (SKY.LN) said Thursday that revenue increased 8% and profit was up 4% in the fiscal year ended June compared with the same period a year earlier, as the British pay-TV giant awaits a verdict from U.K. regulators over whether Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Inc. can buy out the 61% of Sky that it doesn't already own.

Sky said revenue increased to 12.9 billion pounds ($16.9 billion) and profit rose to GBP691 million. Operating profit decreased by 1.3% to GBP964 million because of increased costs for the rights to broadcast games from England's top soccer league, Sky Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch said.

Mr. Murdoch and his family are major shareholders in Fox, Sky and News Corp., the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

-Write to Stu Woo at stu.woo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 27, 2017 02:54 ET (06:54 GMT)