[SatNews] Freesat, the subscription free satellite TV service , has announced a good start to 2014, adding 18,000 homes as budget-conscious consumers switched away from expensive payTV packages.
Freesat , which celebrates the sixth anniversary of its launch this week, is now available in 1.84 million households, and is watched by more than 3.8 million viewers every week. During the quarter, the big hits with the Freesat audience included the Winter Olympics from Sochi, Call the Midwife, Gogglebox, Mr. Selfridge and, of course, Sherlock. Freesat ’s continuing growth demonstrates the strong appeal of premium TV on a subscription-free basis. With a Freesat box , viewers have access to more than 200 TV and radio channels, more than with any other Free-To-Air (FTA) provider.
Freesat’s connected TV service—Freetime—has consistently delivered strong growth since its launch in 2012. The latest quarterly figures highlight that it now accounts for 41 percent of all Freesat STB sales. Sales of Freetime boxes more than doubled year-on-year. The award-winning service offers access to On Demand players, and allows viewers to pause and rewind live programs and roll back the TV guide to watch shows from the past seven days.
During the quarter, Freesat also announced a landmark partnership with Panasonic, which means that Freetime is the preferred TV guide in the new range of VIERA TV , now on sale in the UK. For the first time ever, the benefits of Freetime are available to Freeview and Freesat viewers. In addition, Freesat agreed to a partnership with Vestel, the global TV manufacturer, which will see Freetime included on a wide range of televisions and STBs.
Demand for Freesat ’s mobile app has been strong with total downloads of more than 200,000 since launching just a little more than 100 days ago. The app works as a remote control, acts as a guide to what’s on TV, and allows viewers to remotely set recordings. The app was recommended as a ‘Best New App’ on Apple’s App Store.
For further information, please visit the Freesat infosite at https://www.freesat.co.uk/
