Freeview passes 100m device milestone

UK digital-terrestrial platform Freeview has passed the milestone of 100 million integrated digital-terrestrial TVs and set-top boxes sold since the platform launched in 2002. 

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 with an inbuilt DVB-T SD or HD tuner make up two thirds of Freeview units sold, at just over 70 million.  Freeview+ DVRs account for over six million sales, while HD TVs and boxes account for 16 million sales, with TVs accounting for 98% of these sales.

Freeview is currently building up to the launch of its Freeview Play connected TV service providing access to broadcaster catch-up services. The platform operator noted that sales of smart TVs in the UK accounted for 48% of total sales in 2014, up from 9% four years earlier.

“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,” said Guy North, managing director of Freeview.

“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.”