—Sky’s the limit: Darcey said that, despite a slowdown in new subscriptions in the last few months, the company would not just reach its stated 10 million target for paying subscribers but would go on to beat it after that. The industry is, he said, a long way from a saturation point: “I’ve lost count of the number of times that Sky has (supposedly) signed up all the people who will ever pay for sport ... yet here we are today with more than nine million customers, a third more than when Freeview launched in 2002.”

—Digital innovation drives organic growth: It’s the forward-thinking digital projects that will secure Sky’s future, according to Darcey. He cited the things like Sky+, which was unpopular at first but now taken by three in four new customers; switching to fully digital; putting its film library online and investment in HD as the reasons people continue to choose them over a one-dimensional and non-dynamic free-to-air offering. On the back of his online VOD platform announcement, Darcey said Sky was keen to expand further into sectors beyond its satellite channels and increase syndication of content working with third parties. Work is well under way on bring more Sky content to Sony (NYSE: SNE) PSP handheld games consoles and mobiles.

—Tie Kangaroo down:  “It’s not clear to me it needs to be done with the three of them together,” said Darcey of the ITV/BBCWW/C4 JV Kangaroo, currently the subject of a Competition Commission review. “As a group they are collectively able to set conditions for supply for a very significant proportion for their archive materials themselves. it’s not clear what is gained by coming together.”