ON DEMAND television services and broadband are to become a key source of revenues at BT’s consumer arm within five years, the head of the division forecast yesterday.

Ian Livingston said that the fledgeling services’ share of revenues at the division would increase from 2 per cent to one third by 2010.

His comments came as he revealed the unit’s television strategy, which includes a tie-up with BBC Worldwide, Paramount and Warner Music. BT will begin to offer its subscribers content from those media companies to cement its position in the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) market, which looks set to put BSkyB and NTL head to head with BT.

The move into IPTV services comes as fixed line phone operators come under pressure from the increasing popularity of mobile phone use as an alternative to land lines.

Internet telephony, or Voice over Internet Protocol, services now make it possible for internet users with a broadband connection to make calls at no cost.

Mr Livingston, BT Retail’s chief executive, said sales of the division’s broadband packages would be supplemented by the move into next generation television services. He said: “We are forecasting that interactive and new services could represent about a third of our revenues from 2010.”

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