Half of all UK homes digital by year-end: says BBC

[Gregg Lengling]

The BBC now expects that half of all TV homes in the UK will have some form of digital TV by the end of this year (2003) and that Britain is fast approaching the point where a majority of homes with have gone digital.

The prediction is based on the extraordinary success of Freeview with sales of DTA boxes and iDTVs running at around 100,000 units every week! By the end of the year, Freeview should be some 2.5 million homes.

In a statement, the BBC said:

The growth of Freeview along with satellite and cable means that soon more than half of the population will have access to the BBC's full digital line-up of eight television channels and 11 national radio stations in time for Christmas. The figures look likely to continue to grow at a steady rate.

With Christmas sales rising to the half million mark, Freeview is set to be in 2.5 million homes by the close of the year. The additional growth of satellite and cable ensures that digital television will soon be enjoyed by the majority of the UK.

Another interesting fact from the review is that the demographics of Freeview take-up roughly match the population as a whole. Figures from July to September 2003 show that 52 per cent of consumers are ABC1 whilst 48 per cent are C2DE - broadly correlating with the general population.

The BBC points out that people across all age groups are buying Freeview, with a slightly higher percentage of those at 65 plus years of age buying equipment - indicating that it's reaching an age group that has rejected pay packages.

Ilse Howling, Head of Digital Marketing and Communications, said: "The BBC digital campaign has been a runaway success, getting the message to people with analogue television that there's a way to get the BBC digital channels in a way that suits everyone - satellite, cable or Freeview."

Additional evidence of the excitement about Freeview comes from the DTG's webs-site, which is averaging 3,500 hits a day with 25 per cent of visitors searching out the post-code coverage page.