Subscriber boost for Virgin Media

Virgin says it wants to focus on reducing customer churn

Virgin Media added 13,000 new customers from July to September as it tried to shrug off the effects of a damaging dispute with rival broadcaster BSkyB.

The figures mark an improvement from the previous three months, when the firm lost more than 70,000 subscribers.

Broadband subscriptions rose sharply in the latest period, while the number of telephony customers defecting fell.

Virgin is currently embroiled in a bitter row with Sky about how much it ought to pay to carry its channels.

'Fundamental strengths'

Virgin Media is refusing to broadcast Sky's basic package of channels on its cable platform after a row over charges and has taken its rival to the High Court, accusing it of abusing its dominant position in the pay-TV market.

For every quarter that its channels are not available to Virgin Media's 3.3 million cable subscribers, Sky has estimated the dispute could cost it £15m in lost profits.

But Virgin Media declined to comment on the financial implications of the row for its own business.

The firm added 20,400 new TV customers in the three months to the end of September, while net broadband subscribers increased by nearly 123,000.

We can focus on continuing to improve the fundamentals - enhancing our products, reducing our churn and delivering on our competitive strengths Neil Berkett, Virgin Media

It lost 1,300 telephony customers over the period, down from 56,900 in the previous quarter, while overall customer churn fell slightly.

Total revenues were broadly flat at £1bn, but Virgin Media reduced its pre-tax losses to £61.4m from £104.4m for the same period last year.

Following NTL Telewest's merger with Virgin Mobile last year, the business was relaunched as the UK's first "quadruple play" service, offering mobile phone, fixed-line phone, Internet broadband and TV services.

Virgin Media said it was enjoying its healthiest growth in customer numbers in 18 months.

"With the cable merger integration expected to be complete by year-end, we can focus on continuing to improve the fundamentals - enhancing our products, reducing our churn and delivering on our competitive strengths," said acting chief executive Neil Berkett.

Virgin Media is conducting a review of its business after receiving a takeover approach from an unnamed party in August.