Digital Launch Update
After months of speculation, Sky digital launched the first digital television service today (see Newsline). Set-top boxes went on sale in electrical stores across the country, and people at Sky are full of optimism for how the service will be received.
A spokesperson for Sky Digital said this morning: “What’s been amazing has been the demand we’ve seen, people desperate for information and digital packs, enquiries about the service. We’re getting tens of thousands of calls a day from people wanting to make subscriptions or just get hold of information.”
The group is expecting to have received around 20,000 confirmed orders for the service by the end of today alone. By the end of the year, Sky are anticipating to have in excess of 200,000 subscribers.
The projections above, provided by Merrill Lynch, estimate 320,000 digital subscribers by the end of 1998, which is even more ambitious than Sky’s predictions for the take up of the service.
Set-top boxes went on sale for the first time today, and Dixon’s flagship store in Oxford Street opened its doors late last night, from 11:30pm till 1:00am, to mark the launch of the sale of the equipment needed to receive Sky’s digital service; the boxes are available at £199 each.
Steve O’Brien, head of corporate affairs at Dixons, commented to Newsline this morning: “Between the hours that the store was open, about 250 people filtered through. We sold the first set-top box on the stroke of mid-night. There was a great deal of interest, with a lot of people asking questions and showing a great deal of curiosity. We sold 7 or 8 set-top boxes during that period.”
Both Dixon’s and Sky were the subject of a survey discussed at the Marketing Forum, along with 25 other firms. Both firms were deemed to be amongst some of the least trustworthy and worst performers in the UK, along with McDonalds and Ford, according the 1,600 people surveyed. Sky, of course, only has good things to say about expectations of its digital TV service. Mark Booth, chief executive of BSkyB, commented: “Today is the day that television changes. Sky Digital will transform the way we watch television, giving viewers control. It will revolutionise the way millions of people spend their leisure time.”
ITV is still sticking to its guns and refusing to be carried on the Sky Digital network (see Newsline) despite recent speculation that the Network stands to lose out on £500 million if it continues to resist (see Newsline).
Sky Television: 0171 705 3200 ONdigital: 0171 819 8120 Dixon’s Corporate Affairs: 01442 353 000