Virgin Media said that the slowdown was in part due to its decision to focus on recruiting better quality customers who will spend more but it also admitted the economic downturn has had some impact on business.
The group, whose direct marketing is handled by Rapier, has reported a slowdown in customer growth to a total of 167,200 gross customer additions in the quarter to the end of March, down from 193,000 in the previous quarter and from 181,000 a year ago.
The figures also revealed a larger than expected drop in revenues, which fell to £935.7m, down from £941m last year.
On a more positive note Virgin Media's churn, the rate at which customers leave the service, dropped to a record low of 1.1%.
The group said that the lower gross additions were offset by the reduced churn with a net total customer increase in the quarter of 7,100, up from 4,000 a year ago.
In contrast Virgin Media's main rival BSkyB reported a rise of 13% in pre-tax profits to £63m for the three months to 31 March as more customers signed up for its high-definition digital service Sky+HD.
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