BT has announced its TV customer base grew by 8,000 in Q1 of 2017, taking it to 1.8 million.
The company announced revenues of £5.8 billion, up one per cent annually, with profits before tax of £418 million, down 42 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2016.
The strongest customer demand across BT’s portfolio was for its TV and BT Sport offerings. BT reported all of its customers have now migrated from its legacy Vision TV platform to YouView.
During the quarter, BT Sport’s viewing was boosted by the two European finals and the America’s Cup.
Around seven million viewers watched the UEFA Champions League final across all of its TV platform and digital channels, an increase of 12 per cent compared with 2016. Around 6.5 million people tuned in to watch Manchester United play Ajax in the UEFA Europa League final.
Overall, consumer revenue was up seven per cent, with a nine per cent increase in broadband and TV revenue. However, operating costs increased nine per cent due to the investment in new UK customer service roles, the new Premier League rights contract and the closure of the legacy Vision TV platform.
“BT has delivered an encouraging performance in the first quarter of the year,” said chief executive Gavin Patterson. “We’ve made good progress in our key areas of strategic focus: deliver great customer experience, invest for growth, and transform our costs.
“We will continue to simplify and streamline the business and rationalise our costs as demonstrated by our ongoing performance transformation programme. Our businesses are leaders in their core segments and as we drive the business forward I am confident in the outlook for our company.”
