British telecom giant, BT has announced yesterday that its revenues rose 2 per cent to the level of £4.6bn for the third quarter of its financial year.

The company said that it had recorded revenue of £4.5 billion during the same quarter of the previous year. The rise of 2 per cent during the quarter is the first increase in income in four-and-a-half years as the company was able to add a significant number of customersto its pay TV service.

Experts have said that the company has benefitted from the former chief executive Lord Livingston's strategy of focusing on sports broadcasting. The company's market value increases by about one billion as it recorded its first revenue increase since 2009. BT said it added 150,000 broadband subscribers while its BT Sport networks had more than 2.5 million users by December of 2013.

BT CEO Gavin Patterson told The Hollywood Reporter, "We achieved some particularly strong audience figures in December, and the exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League that we have won will further strengthen the appeal of our proposition."