TalkTalk passes the 500,000-customer mark in growing pay-TV market

TALKTALK staked its claim as the UK’s fastest-growing pay-TV provider after attracting more than half a million customers to its service.

The group, which turned on its TV offering about a year ago, has set a target of almost a million TV customers by March next year.

Shares in the company leapt more than 11 per cent as TalkTalk also told the City to expect stronger revenues growth.

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But heavy spending on TV expansion sent underlying pre-tax profits plunging to just £9m in the six months to the end of September, from £85m a year earlier.

TalkTalk’s chief executive Dido Harding has so far ploughed £100m into growing the TV business, which aims to lure Freeview customers to its subscription packages.

Its customers watch TV on YouView boxes via a broadband connection, allowing them to pause, rewind and record programmes. Customers can pay extra to watch channels including Sky Sports and Sky Movies.

TalkTalk said growth accelerated as it added a net 167,000 new TV customers during the three months to the end of September, to give it 557,000 TV subscribers. The group recently launched a budget pay-TV package, Essentials TV, for £7.50 a month.

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The company said there is “significant potential for us to build a scale TV business”, with a market of up to 18m homes which its TV service would appeal to.

Telecoms groups are increasingly attempting to capture customer spending across the quad-play market, spanning TV, broadband, mobile and landline.

BT, traditionally a phone and internet provider, recently took on Sky in the battle for armchair sports fans by launching its own sport channels featuring live Premier League football.

That battled intensified over the weekend when BT won exclusive UK rights to show three seasons of Champions League and Europa League matches. BT also uses YouView boxes.

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YouView is a joint venture between BT, TalkTalk, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Arqiva.

TalkTalk’s broadband customers grew by a net 5,000 during the quarter to 4.08m amid intensifying competition, while it signed up another 34,000 mobile customers to give it 236,000.

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