Freeview HD passes 4.4 million devices

UK digital-terrestrial service Freeview has reported fourth-quarter sales of 1.3 million Freeview HD TVs and set-tops, taking the number of Freeview HD units sold to 4.4 million by the end of December.

Freeview said that sales of HD TVs doubled year-on-year in December and that Freeview Plus HD now accounted for 30% of all Freeview Plus DVR sales.

Freeview cited audience research group BARB’s figures to show that two million homes are actively using the free HD service.

Freeview also reported that over 90% of the 2.6 million internet-connected TVs sold in the UK to date are Freeview HD TVs.

Ilse Howling, managing director of Freeview, said: “2012 is set to be a landmark year for the television industry and we have entered it with a bang as a result of fantastic Freeview HD sales figures. Television remains an incredibly important part of people’s lives and Freeview has continued to provide the most-loved programmes in the format people want without the need to pay for a subscription.  Our focus now is to ensure we continue to evolve the service and give viewers what they want over the next 10 years.”

There are currently four HD channels on the DTT platform – BBC One HD, the BBC HD Channel, ITV1 HD and Channel 4 HD. A fifth channel is set to launch in April.

Freeview began broadcasting HD channels in March 2010. Currently 81% of the UK can receive HD through Freeview, which will increase to the whole country when digital switchover is completed in October.
According to Freeview, 10.6 million homes view Freeview on their main TV sets.