Freesat tops four million viewers per week

Emma Scott

UK free-to-air satellite service Freesat now reaches over four million viewers a week, with 32,000 new homes having added the service in the first nine months of the year. 

Freesat said that its service is now available in 1.9 million UK households and that it has maintained momentum throughout the year, adding 8,000 in its most recent quarter – the three months to the end of September.

Freesat’s connected TV service, Freetime, now accounts for 48% of all Freesat set-top-box sales and a third of all new Freesat sales.

The satellite service said that Panasonic, which launched a range of televisions in May with Freetime built-in, is also helping to drive Freetime growth with “even higher than expected connection rates.”

The Freesat mobile app, which first launched in January and is now available on both iOS and Android, has now been downloaded more than 350,000 times.

“It is fantastic to be able to report another solid quarter of growth that demonstrates the ongoing appeal of free TV over pay,” said Freesat’s outgoing managing director Emma Scott.

“We have enhanced our offering with our hugely successful mobile app, now available on both Android and iOS, and with our popular Showcase recommendation service, which is helping to drive viewer engagement. I am delighted to see the enduring success of Freesat with consumers.”