TalkTalk Telecom said it was the UK's fastest growing TV business today after reaching the landmark of one million customers.
The firm, which launched its TV offering 18 months ago, added 687,000 customers in the 12 months to March 31, more than the combined growth of established players BSkyB, Virgin Media and BT.
TalkTalk, which invested £112 million growing its network last year, said its pre-tax profits fell to £31 million from £122 million a year ago, in line with market expectations. It posted its first full year of revenue growth, up 3.4% to £1.7 billion, since it was spun off from Carphone in 2010.
TalkTalk has been boosted by demand from consumers who do not want to sign up to long-term TV subscription packages. The firm's customers watch TV on YouView boxes via a broadband connection, allowing them to pause, rewind and record programmes. However, they can pay extra to watch channels including Sky Sports and Sky Movies.
TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding said: "We continue to grow faster than all the other UK TV operators put together and are confident that in time, all our customers will take TV."
The firm, which targets the country's 18 million Freeview customers as potential users of its service, said it planned to use the scale it had built up to sell a range of products to customers across its internet, TV and phone service.
Over the last three months the firm's TV customers increased by 185,000 in the three months to 31 March, an improvement on the previous quarter, and the rate of broadband additions rose slightly to 10,000. TalkTalk also added 24,000 mobile customers and 35,000 homes taking fibre optic broadband.
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