More than half of Smart HD TVs sold in the UK have Freeview Play

Monday, July 31st, 2017
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Freeview Play Sales Surge

  • 1 in 2 Smart HD TVs sold are now Freeview Play enabled

Freeview has announced that Freeview Play TVs account for more than half of all Smart HD TV* sales in the UK. In June, 55% of Smart HD TVs sold were Freeview Play enabled**, a rise of 20 percentage points since January 2017. Launched less than two years ago, Freeview Play brings UK consumers a seamless combination of live, catch-up and on demand content all in one place with no monthly subscription.

Freeview Play is currently backed by more than 20 leading brands***. The platform is the most widely adopted service by manufacturers for catch-up TV in the UK. Since launch 1.5 million Freeview Play devices have been sold****. Further partner announcements are planned later this year. The platform is simplifying the Smart TV market, giving consumers confidence that by buying a Freeview Play product they are guaranteed to receive access to nation’s most popular catch up players.

Guy North, Managing Director, Freeview said, “Freeview Play is fast becoming the smart choice for UK consumers. I’d like to thank all our partners who have helped us reach this milestone. It’s a remarkable achievement.”

Dan Hastings Category Director – Consumer Electronics, Dixons Carphone said, “The Freeview Play offering is proving popular with our consumers. The combination of live and catch-up TV available without a subscription provides consumers with a credible alternative to pay TV.”

Technical development of Freeview Play, including product specification, is being led by Digital UK.

Freeview is managed by DTV Services Ltd, a company owned and run by its five shareholders: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and Arqiva.

[*] Freeview HD TV’s with Web Access.
[**] Source: GfK Point of Sales Tracking, Panelmarket, Volume Sales
[***] Freeview Play is supported by Blaupunkt, Bush, Digihome, Finlux, Goodmans, Hisense, Hitachi, Humax, JVC, Laurus, LG, Linsar, Luxor, Manhattan, Mitchel & Brown, Panasonic, Polaroid, Sharp, techwood, Telefunken and Toshiba.
[****] Source: GfK Point of Sales Tracking, Panelmarket, Volume Sales since Launch.