Half a million tune in to Telewest

By Nick Goodway for MailOnline
Updated: 00:00 BST, 22 March 2001

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TELEWEST, Britain's second-largest cable TV and telephone company, has 確認するd that it 攻撃する，衝突する its 的 of 500,000 数字表示式の 顧客s this month and 約束d that it would concentrate on 改善するing its 製品s and service over the next year.

In the past year the group has bought Flextech and Eurobell, had major problems with 始める，決める-最高の，を越す boxes, started selling high-速度(を上げる） internet services and only this week 安全な・保証するd a £1.7bn refinancing 一括.

長，指導者 (n)役員／(a)執行力のある Adam Singer said: 'If Telewest were human, it would be the 同等（の） of changing 職業s, moving house, getting married and giving birth all in one year. It was a 堅い year but the results show that we made it.'

These showed a 42% rise in turnover to £1.13bn in the year to end-December. 収入s before 利益／興味, 税金, 価値低下 and amortisation rose by 11% to £247m. Pre-税金 losses rose from £530m to £706m but losses per 株 were only 8% higher at 26.1p.

Singer said: 'The 始める，決める-最高の，を越す box 供給（する） problems that 原因（となる）d us to pause our marketing last summer are history. We have solid lines of 供給（する） from Pace and have 発表するd a second 供給者, 科学の America.'

He said the roll-out of active 数字表示式の television was 支援する on course with より小数の （民事の）告訴s of faults and a 重要な 減少（する） in the churn 率 in the final ４半期/4分の1 of 2000. The high-速度(を上げる） internet service, blueyonder, has been sold to 16,500 顧客s while 287,000 take the unmetered internet service.

Singer said: 'We are only at the beginning of the broadband 革命: we are only starting to 調査する the 可能性のある 製品s and services that 顧客s will want and 支払う／賃金 for in a world of high-速度(を上げる）, always-on connectivity. I passionately believe that Telewest is the perfect place to 生成する this 革命.'

He said the group now has several thousand 顧客s 支払う／賃金ing more than £65 a month for its 賞与金 service compared with an 普通の／平均（する） 月毎の 法案 of just £37.45. But even that 普通の／平均（する） is the highest of any cable 操作者 across Europe.

The 早い 下降 in 感情 over telecoms companies, which has seen Telewest's 株 price 落ちる by more than 80% this year, meant that talk of a 合併 with 競争相手 NTL and a possible flotation of the 共同の 投機・賭ける with the BBC, UKTV, were not on the cards, said Singer.

But he said UKTV stopped losing money in 2000 with its most-watched channel, UK Gold, showing 収入s growth of more than 50%.