Digital UK has published its annual update report on digital terrestrial television in the UK.
The report highlights the continuing popularity of the DTT platform and the development of Freeview Play, which is now watched in around 20 million homes.
With Freeview being built into new TVs, it has seen more than 108m Freeview TVs and digital boxes sold.
Digital TV is the biggest platform used by the 20m homes. This is followed by satellite at 11m and cable at 4m.
Despite the rising popularity of catch-up TV services, the majority of viewers (85 per cent) still watch live TV, followed by recorded TV (10 per cent) and on-demand (five per cent).
Digital UK’s chief executive, Jonathan Thompson, said in the report: “As more partners sign up to make Freeview Play products, it has the potential to play an important role in creating a fully connected TV nation.”
The report also notes the importance of Digital UK’s partnerships across the industry, its ongoing support for Freeview viewers and the preparations under way for the future clearance of airwaves in the 700MHz spectrum band.
Digital UK’s role in clearance involves leading and managing key activity across various technical work streams. This includes:
- Drawing together Ofcom’s frequency plan and project milestones;
- Development of the clearance timetable;
- Coordination of engineering work with Arqiva;
- Arrangement of grant funding;
- Management of risks, issues and stakeholder relations.
