LONDON (AP) — Satellite television service British Sky Broadcasting PLC yesterday reported a 38 percent gain in second-quarter profit as strong demand for high-definition television contributed to a 10 percent jump in revenues.

For the three months ending December 31, BSkyB reported a net profit of £128 million ($208 million) compared to £93 million a year ago. The year-earlier figure included a £35 million charge for losses on BSkyB's share stake in ITV PLC.

Revenue rose to £1.49 billion, up from £1.35 billion a year earlier, and BSkyB raised its interim dividend by five percent to 7.875 pence per share.

BSkyB reported a net gain of 482,000 customers for high-definition TV in the second quarter, compared to 188,000 a year earlier.

For the first half of the year, BSkyB said profit was up 54 percent to £256 million and revenue was 10 percent higher at £2.87 billion.

BSkyB shares were up 2.2 percent at 566 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange. Chief executive Jeremy Darroch announced that BSkyB would now sell high-definition-enabled boxes as standard.

"This weekend, Sky will offer the UK.s first live public broadcast in 3-D ... and we are on track for the commercial launch of our dedicated 3-D channel in the spring," Darroch said.

BSkyB bought a 17.9 percent stake in commercial broadcaster ITV in 2006, effectively blocking a possible takeover move by Virgin Media. A year ago, the government's Competition Commission ordered BSkyB to reduce its holding to 7.5 percent, an order which was upheld this month by the Court of Appeal.

BSkyB, controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., paid £940 million ($1.53 billion) for the ITV shares at 135 pence per share. ITV shares were trading at 56.55 pence on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange.