Freesat nears 400,000 sales mark after first year

The UK’s subscription-free digital satellite TV service celebrates its first birthday today a year on from its hugely successful launch last May.

Freesat has gone from strength to strength in its first 12 months:

• On track for 400,000 Freesat sales
• Up to 70 hours of peak time HD programming is shown on Freesat every week, subscription free
• 3,000 hours of BBC HD and ITV HD programming has been shown on Freesat since launch
• 4,000,000 people have visited www.freesat.co.uk website to date
• Over 140 channels are now available to Freesat customers with no subscription and no contract
• 9 out of 10 Freesat customers would recommend the service to a friend

Freesat’s first year highlights:

• May 2008 -Freesat launches withSD and HD digital boxes from Humax, Goodmans, Grundig and Bush
• June 2008 – Freesat-integrated televisions are first introduced by Panasonic
• August 2008 – Freesat shows over 300 hours of the Beijing Olympics coverage in pin-sharp high definition on the BBC HD channel
• September 2008 – Freesat exclusively premieres Peter Jackson’s blockbuster King Kong on ITV HD
• September 2008 – Freesat wins the Pace / DTG award for ‘Best Contribution to Digital TV in the UK’
• November 2008 – Freesat+ launches
• December 2008 – Freesat doubles sales in final quarter of 2008
• February 2008 – Freesat adds another 100k sales in Q1 2009
• March 2009 – International news network CNN joins Freesat
• April 2009 – First ever Freesat TV advertising campaign
• April 2009 – Panasonic unveil theirfirst integrated Freesat+Blu-ray recorder
• May 2009 – LG’s range of Freesat-integrated TVs launch
• May 2009 – Freesat will stage the first Freesat Awards on 20th May; rewarding the outstanding contribution its channel, retail and manufacturing partners have made to the success of the past year

Emma Scott, Managing Director of Freesat comments: “We are thrilled with the progress we’ve made in the last twelve months. Reaching 400,000 sales as well as launching Freesat+ and a whole range of new Freesat products and services is a fantastic achievement in this competitive market. It shows that there is a real consumer appetite out there for high quality digital TV without monthly bills. With more Freesat channels and products to come and IPTV services such as BBC iPlayer due in the Autumn, we’re looking forward to a successful second year.”

In order to receive Freesat, a satellite dish is required, or a dish can be installed for around £80. Freesat is available from Argos, Currys, Comet, John Lewis, Maplin and many independent retailers.