TalkTalk is Britain's fastest growing new TV service

TalkTalk signed up 150,000 new subscribers to its YouView service in the first three months of this year – making TalkTalk TV the UK’s fastest-growing new TV service.

The leap took the total number of TV customers on the company’s network to more than 230,000 at the end of March, with 12,000 new customers taking the service each week.

Early data reveals that three-quarters of those signing up are upgrading from Freeview. TalkTalk believes many of these people have previously resisted on-demand services because they were unwilling to commit to costly, long-term contracts.

Dido Harding, TalkTalk’s chief executive, said: “We have the UK’s fastest growing TV service and our customers clearly appreciate it is great value for money.

“We believe, over time, that three-quarters of our customer base will take our TV offer. It is a brilliant way to start the pay-TV journey, particularly for families seeking great value mass-market entertainment.”

TalkTalk launched its YouView service at the end of September 2012, providing customers with a free YouView set top box worth £299 giving them the ability to pause, rewind and record up to 4,000 shows from 70 channels plus seven-day catch-up at no extra charge.

It provides simple, flexible access to premium, on-demand content, and around one in five TalkTalk TV households have already accessed pay-per-view content including blockbuster movies from LOVEFiLM BOX OFFICE like The Hobbit and Life of Pi, costing from just £2.50, and monthly subscriptions.

Life of Pi was the highest grossing movie rental in its opening week, taking nearly half of all rentals during the week it launched. The top five film rentals of 2013 so far have been – in order – Taken 2, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, Hotel Transylvania and The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2. Taken 2 has accounted for 7% of all rentals so far this year.

TalkTalk’s own award-winning children’s TV channel, Scamp, is the second most popular channel within the TalkTalk Player, reaching over four times as many viewers than its nearest competitor*. Free for all customers, it features top preschool content such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam and Peppa Pig, which is consistently the most watched programme on Scamp. Entertainment channel ABC On Demand, which includes on demand series of hit shows like Cougar Town and Scrubs, is the most watched channel in the TalkTalk Player.

In entertainment, TalkTalk has widened the offer to include a broader range of ethnic content, such as Star Plus, the UK’s largest Asian Channel, and other specialist content including the new Karaoke, Concert and Digital Theatre channels.

Sky Movies and Sky Sports are available on a month-by-month basis with no costly annual subscriptions. The partnership with Sky Sports means the very best football, cricket, darts, boxing, golf and Formula One are available to customers on Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, 4, F1 and Sky Sports News.

Feedback from customers reveals very high levels of satisfaction with every aspect of the YouView from TalkTalk service, from sign-up to installation, content and PVR functionality.

Looking ahead, in the autumn TalkTalk will launch a value-for-money Essentials TV product with a smaller, lower-cost YouView set-top box, which will be available to all 4 million TalkTalk customers. The company also plans to offer a wider range of specialist channels including some catering for different languages.

TalkTalk believes the popularity of its TV offer will boost longer-term profitability by helping it grow its customer base and giving existing customers more reasons to remain loyal.

* compared to viewing in March against Nick Jr On Demand