Telecom group Virgin Media today said demand for superfast broadband and its new digital television recording service helped reverse a decline in cable customers.

The group, which offers television, broadband and phone services, added 6,300 net cable subscribers in the three months to September 30, compared to a decline of 36,000 in the previous quarter.

Virgin said more than 25% of its 4.79 million cable customers now subscribe for its fastest internet speeds - above 20 megabytes - while TiVo, its recordable TV service, has increased four-fold since the end of July to 222,000 today.