BT said it signed up a record 106,000 TV customers in its second quarter of the year, boosted by the start of the telecoms operator’s Champions League football coverage.

It said the extra viewers helped lift the telecoms giant’s adjusted pre-tax profits in the six months to the end of September by 5% to £1.4 billion compared to a year ago.

BT added that its mobile base now stands at 200,000 customers since it re-entered the market earlier in the year.

On Wednesday, the competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally approved BT’s £12.5 billion merger with mobile phone firm EE.

In the summer the telecom’s operator launched its coverage of all Champions League and Europa League matches free this season following the launch of the BT Sport Europe channel. BT has paid £897 million to show the games for three years.

Chief executive Gavin Patterson said: “We’ve seen good demand for BT Sport Europe and this has helped us add a record number of BT TV customers in the quarter.

“Mobile is another growth area and I am pleased our consumer customer base now stands at more than 200,000. And I am also pleased that yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority provisionally approved our planned acquisition of EE, unconditionally without remedies.”