Deutsche Telekom has reported that it had 333,000 customers for its 'T-Home Entertain' IPTV service at the end of the third quarter of this year, an increase of 33% within a single quarter from the 250,000 announced at the end of June.

Of these total orders, the telco reports that it has activated 257,000 connections, an increase of around 60,000 or about 30% from the "almost 200,000" reported at the end of the second quarter of this year. The strong progress in the quarter is thought to be due in part to the broadcast of live football games from the Bundesliga, which includes interactive services .

Deutsche Telekom is aiming to reach 500,000 customer for T-Home Entertain by the end of this year, and has just launched a promotion under which new customers receive a free high-definition set-top box with built-in PVR, normally costing €49.99.

Total revenues across the group fell by 1.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of this year to reach €15.5bn, while net profits rose €639mn by the same comparison to reach €895mn in the period.