Advanced Television

Freeview HD reaches 4.4m units

February 13, 2012

Freeview, the UK’s biggest digital television service, has revealed that after strong quarterly sales of 1.3 million Freeview HD televisions and STBs, the number of Freeview HD units sold reached 4.4 million by the end of December 20111.

The strong sales performance of Freeview HD is echoed across the product portfolio; year-on-year sales of Freeview HD televisions more than doubled in December 2011 and Freeview+HD now accounts for 30 per cent of all Freeview+ sales.

According to BARB, in the 18 months since the subscription-free HD service launched, two million homes are actively using the service – an achievement made in half the time it took Sky HD to reach a comparable user base.

Freeview also reports that of the 2.6 million Smart TVs that have been sold to date across the UK, over 90 per cent are Freeview HD televisions. Viewers can access four HD channels (BBC One HD, The BBC HD Channel, ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD), up to 50 standard definition TV channels and when connected to the Internet services like BBC iPlayer, YouTube and LoveFilm.

The roll out of Freeview HD will be completed in October.  Currently 81% of the UK can receive the service, by the Olympics this will increase to 85%  and the whole country will be able to receive Freeview HD at the end of digital switchover.

The number of homes with Freeview on a main television set is currently 10.6 million.

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