Satellite broadcaster, BSkyB, has exceeded industry predictions with stronger than expected subscriber growth for the third quarter, achieving net direct-to-home growth (DTH) of 95,000, up from 66,000 in the same period last year.
BSkyB has beat previous forecasts in terms of subscriber growth, with an AFX News poll of five leading brokers estimating between 60,000 to 90,000 net new subscribers in the three month period.
The broadcaster now has over 7.7 million subscribers and is on track to reach its eight million subscriber target by the end of 2005.
However, BSkyB also claims that it expects “above-the-line” marketing costs to rise by between 40% and 50% in the 2005 financial year, compared to 2004.
MediaTel INSIGHT’s Digital TV report cites Ofcom’s research, showing that in terms of digital television penetration, BSkyB is the clear market leader, reaching more than 7 million households by the end of 2004.
Freeview however, is revealed to have driven market growth, with 4.5 million households by the end of last year, a 17% increase quarter on quarter.
During March 2005 the first survey of the UK’s top media buying and planning agencies on the future of the TV landscape was carried out by MediaTel INSIGHT, questioning a panel of managing directors and broadcast directors at the UK’s leading media agencies(see Media Agencies Uncertain Of Digital Switchover). The survey showed that the number of Sky and Freeview combined households are predicted to be within the 15.7 and 20.3 million range, with Sky’s estimates between 8.4 and 9.5 million, while Freeview’s range was broader from 6.5 to 10.5 million. Only three of the respondents expect Freeview to be in more households than Sky by 2008. The majority of respondents expect the joint penetration figure for Sky and Freeview to exceed the latest Merrill Lynch predictions of 16 million (see Global Digital TV To Reach 144 Million Homes By End Of 2005).
According to Ofcom, digital television penetration in the UK had reached almost 60% of households by the end of 2004 (see Digital Penetration Reaches Almost 60% Of UK Homes).
Globally, digital television is predicted to reach 144 million homes by the end of 2005, with this figure set to more than double by the end of the decade.
Although many countries have experienced impressive growth in the popularity of digital television, no country is expected to have 100% digital penetration until 2014, according to a report at the end of last year from Informa Media Group (see Full Digital TV Penetration Expected To Begin In 2014).
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