BT Group Plc plans to bring services such as music, gaming, TV and movies over broadband internet to UK homes, as the fixed-line operator looks to broaden revenue streams to offset a declining core business.

BT, which has the largest number of fixed-line customers among UK operators, unveiled plans this week to create a new unit called BT Entertainment within its BT Retail arm from January 1 to give a further boost to the fast-growing broadband market and increase BT's own share within it.

BT named Andrew Burke, director of value-added services at BT Retail, as the head of the new division, and also said it had hired Dan Marks, president of Universal Studios Networks in the UK, to lead its strategy to provide video over the internet.

Mr Burke said the move would help BT to cut subscriber churn in its retail broadband business, and drive sales and profits higher.

The former monopoly's traditional fixed-line voice business has been hit by rising competition and falling prices, and it has sought to make that up by targeting what it calls new wave businesses such as broadband, mobiles and business computing.

"We need to use it (Entertainment) as a differentiator. The market is very competitive on price, we see it being competitive on services moving forward," he said in an interview.

BT Retail has a 39 per cent share of the 3.3-million-strong DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband market in the UK.

Mr Burke did not reveal how much new revenue it was targeting from its entertainment push, which will incorporate services such as Rich Media, its content platform business, its Click & Buy payment system and its BT Learning Centre learning offering.

After initially looking to target personal computers with high-speed internet connections in homes, Mr Burke said BT will eventually aim to rope in devices such as televisions, mobile phones, PDAs, kiosks and even portable media players.