UK's TalkTalk adds 160,000 YouView subscribers in 2Q 2013

TalkTalk continues rapid TV growth

TalkTalk signed up 160,000 new TV subscribers to its YouView service in the three months to end June taking the total number of TV customers on the company’s network to 390,000 in that period.

In June, as the multi-billion pound ‘battle for football’ raged, TalkTalk had its strongest ever month for TV sales.

Entertainment, movies and children’s programming remain the most compelling content for TalkTalk TV customers with 26% of households spending extra on premium content including blockbuster movies and monthly subscriptions to extra entertainment and family channels.

Sports fans have not been forgotten with TalkTalk customers enjoying watching The Ashes and The Lions Tour with the prospect of 116 live Premiership matches to come thanks to the partnership with Sky Sports and flexible, one-month-at-a-time contracts that do not require a year-round commitment.

Early data reveals that three-quarters of those signing up are upgrading from Freeview and Freesat which is strong testimony to the appeal of YouView. 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’re fast becoming the natural home for families seeking great value mass-market entertainment and starting their pay TV journey. For our loyal customers it’s a great way to upgrade from their existing TV service.

New customers are connecting to TalkTalk for the first time too with feedback showing very high levels of satisfaction with every aspect of the service, from sign-up to installation, content available and the functionality of YouView which allows them to catch-up, search and record.”

Published today, TalkTalk’s Connected Homes Report* shows that the top five film rentals of 2013 so far have been – in order – Life of Pi, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Wreck-it Ralph, The Impossible, and Django Unchained.

The report also found that streaming from sites such as BBC iPlayer and Spotify now account for 35% of all traffic on the TalkTalk network, with Sunday being the busiest online day of the week. The average traffic for a weekday is now around 640Gbs to 650Gbs which is equivalent to 237,714 HD programmes being streamed via the BBC iPlayer at the same time.

TalkTalk’s own award-winning children’s TV channel, Scamp, is the second most popular channel within the TalkTalk Player. Free for all customers, it features top preschool content such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam and Peppa Pig.

The Connected Homes report shows that Peppa Pig is consistently the most watched on-demand programme in the TalkTalk Player, followed by Ben & Holly. Entertainment channel ABC On Demand, which includes on demand series of hit shows like Cougar Town and Criminal Minds, is the most watched channel in the TalkTalk Player.

TalkTalk launched its TV 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 also offers customers simple, flexible access to premium, on-demand content such as Sky Movies and Sky Sports on a month-by-month basis with no costly annual subscriptions.

This year, TalkTalk has widened the offer to include a broader range of ethnic content, such as Star Plus, the UK’s largest Asian Channel, Eros Now and other specialist entertainment content including the new Karaoke and Digital Theatre channels, and will continue to expand this even further throughout the year.