Freeview Boosts Digital TV Sector

Continental Research found that awareness of Freeview, which launched last autumn, has grown significantly in the last six months. Back in July 2002, only 39% of UK adults were familiar with the service compared to 58% in January. Awareness is particularly strong amongst men with 65% acquainted with Freeview compared to 51% of women.

Awareness Of Freeview, By Demographic Segment
	July 2002	Jan 2003
	All	All	Men	Women
Aware Of Freeview	39%	58%	65%	51%
Not Aware Of Freeview	61%	42%	35%	49%
Source: Continental Research, February 2003

The increase in awareness has resulted in more people expressing an interest in buying a set-top box to access Freeview (see Freeview Shifts 300,000 Adapters In First Two Months). Last summer, 14% of adults in terrestrial-only homes were interested in the service at the one-off price of £99. This has now risen to more than 26%.

Dave Chilvers, director at Continental Research, commented: “The figure of 26% of terrestrial homes interested in Freeview equates to a potential market of 3.8 million homes. In addition to the over one million homes which currently have access to Freeview services, a total market potential of around five million at a price of £99 currently exists.”

He added: “Just six months ago, when awareness of Freeview was lower and the service was not even fully defined, market potential was around 3 million at price of £99 and just over 4 million at £49. This latest estimate shows how the availability and marketing of Freeview has significantly stimulated interest in this market.”

Online and interactive services Within digital television homes there is a high level of awareness of various activities including listening to the radio via TV, playing interactive games and accessing pay per view services. Almost three-quarters of adults in these households are aware of at least one facility available on their digital set and the Continental survey showed that many services have grown in popularity in the last two years.

% Of Adults In DTV Homes Familiar With Additional Services
DTV Service	% Aware	% Using Service
		Jan 2001	Jan 2003
Listen to radio through TV	58	17	27
Play interactive games on game channels	48	14	20
Purchase pay per view films	48	23	17
Select specific news/sport/weather reports	34	9	15
Purchase pay per view sports	47	11	11
Vote in TV programme or poll	39	4	9
Use playercam facility	24	10	8
Listened to fanzine commentary	24	6	8
Access internet/send emails	37	7	6
Shop online	40	4	5
Place a bet online	19	1	1
Any of these	73	49	50
None of these	27	51	50
Source: Continental Research, February 2003

Interactive services remain an experimental activity with only 7% of respondents admitting to using them more than once a week. However, the changing nature of television programmes appears to be encouraging more people to reach for their digital handsets.

“The re-launch of Sky Active and the extension of Sky News Active to eight screens will have been a factor in the increasing use of selecting specific news, sport or weather reports,” said Chilvers. “The option of interactive voting or other participation in a number of TV programmes, ranging from Big Brother to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has clearly had some impact on the percentages undertaking this activity.”