CABLE television group ntl has announced a 68 per cent fall in third-quarter losses to £117.3m and an increase in the popularity of its high-speed broadband services.

The group, which is listed on the Nasdaq index in New York, said losses in the three months to September 30 had fallen from £369.1m against the same quarter last year.

Total revenues from its businesses, which include cable TV and telephone services ntl: home and ntl: business, rose 3.8 per cent to £555.2m on a year earlier.

The group said more than 30 per cent of its customers were using its broadband service, which provides a high-speed Internet connection.

Broadband customer numbers rose 127 per cent to 864,600 against the same quarter last year.

Ntl's customer base increased by five per cent to 2,809,500 against the same period last year, and its core ntl: home division added 56,200 customers in the quarter.

Its churn rate - the number of subscribers leaving the service - fell to 14.4 per cent from 16.4 per cent a year earlier, but was up on the 12.9 per cent in the second quarter this year.

In August, ntl founder Barclay Knapp stepped down as chief executive eight months after the company agreed a deal with lenders that would take it out of bankruptcy protection.