BSkyB added more than 70,000 TV customers in the three months to the end of March – its highest rate in five years – but saw growth in customers signing up for broadband drop by more than a third.

BSkyB said that a focus on marketing its TV products, which include cheaper internet service Now TV, had paid off with 74,000 new subscribers in the period taking the total TV base to 10.6 million.

BSkyB added that Sky’s new “box sets on-demand” option has driven a four-fold increase in viewing of titles such as Game of Thrones and 24. Overall on-demand usage has tripled year-on-year, he said.

BSkyB also announced a renewal of its deal with Paramount, giving the company exclusive UK pay-TV rights to films such as Anchorman 2 and Noah.

BSkyB said it has renewed deals with five out of the six major Hollywood studios, leaving just 20th Century Fox which has a number of years left to run on its existing deal.

Darroch said that on-demand viewing accounted for 5% of all viewing in homes that have internet-connected set top boxes – making it equivalent to the third most watched channel in those households.

BSkyB added 108,000 new HD customers in the three months to the end of March, taking the total base to 5.1m.