Over 100 million Freeview-capable devices sold in UK

Freeview reaches over 100 million sales

Freeview has passed the 100 million mark for the number of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) TVs and boxes sold since its launch in 20021.

The figure includes all televisions, set-top boxes and DVD and Blu-ray devices with an inbuilt Freeview DVB-T SD or HD tuner.

Integrated digital televisions (IDTVs) – televisions with an inbuilt DVB-T SD or HD tuner – make up the majority (66%) of Freeview units sold, at 70,735,192. Freeview+ digital TV recorders that allow viewers to pause, record and rewind programmes account for over six million sales.

HD televisions and boxes account for 16 million sales and have seen year-on-year growth since Freeview HD was launched in 2010. Of these, 98% of sales were TVs.

The news comes ahead of the launch of Freeview Play, the subscription-free connected TV service that combines catch-up and on-demand services with live TV, thereby enabling viewers to catch up on the TV they’ve missed directly from the TV guide.

Since the first smart TV was introduced in the UK, the connected TV market has seen a five-fold increase in sales increasing from 9% of all TVs sold in 2010 to 48% in 20142.

Guy North, Managing Director of Freeview, said: “Reaching this milestone is testament to the ongoing popularity of the Freeview service. Since its launch we’ve taken the country from analogue to digital, linear to time-shifted, and SD to HD. Soon, we will take our viewers from digital to a connected TV world with Freeview Play.

“There’s a great opportunity for Freeview Play to reach scale in the connected TV market. We will bring simplicity to what is a very confusing market for people right across the UK, and expect Freeview Play to become the new norm in how we watch television in the future.”

1. Freeview sales have now reached 107,124,972, according GfK figures that cover approximately 94% of total market volume for television, set-top boxes and DVD & Blu-ray players
2. Figures provided by GfK for the Ofcom Communications Market Report 2014.