Freeview penetration is predicted to overtake BSkyB as the UK’s leading digital television platform by 2010, with research from media consultancy Spectrum Strategy forecasting the platform to enjoy a healthy performance over the coming years.
The latest figures for digital adoption in the UK, published by Ofcom yesterday, reveal that 63% of UK households have some form of multi-channel device. The number of Freeview only homes was shown to have grown to almost 5.17 million by the end of June, while BSkyB added 75,000 subscribers during Q2 2005, bringing its total to just over 7.4 million by the end of Q2 2005 (see
UK Digital TV Penetration Hits 63%).
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, there has been much speculation over which digital provider would come out on top, enjoying dominance within the digital arena.
This issue was discussed at the recent Edinburgh TV Festival, with a panel debating different scenarios for the future of multichannel television. A market which sees Sky dominant, one in which Freeview leads, or one seeing internet protocol TV (IPTV) and video on demand (VOD) take off due to high speed broadband (see Multichannel Debate Looks At Possible Scenarios For TV Market).
The first scenario, in which Sky is the market leader, would result in cable being put under increasing pressure and Freeview being left with “old” and “refusenik” programming, while with Freeview dominating the market, Sky would be used solely for sports and movies.
Dawn Airey, managing director for Sky attacked the Freeview hypothesis, saying: “From research that Sky has done, and hard evidence, people are using Freeview as a stepping stone to get pay TV.”
However, the new Spectrum Strategy projections favour free-to-air broadcasters, with the report forecasting them to have a “bright future”.
Earlier this month, ITV announced plans to work with the BBC to launch a free digital satellite service, with the working title Freesat, to complement the existing free-to-air terrestrial service, Freeview (see Positive Quarter One Results For Global Ad Agencies).
Freesat will enable viewers to receive subscription-free digital television via satellite and will be aimed primarily at those currently unable to receive the Freeview service.
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