The Freesat free-to-air satellite platform has notched up 100,000 sales in the first five months following its launch. Freesat has also announced that its personal video recorder (PVR) product will be known as Freesat+. Manufacturer Humax is scheduled to launch the first units in November.
Freesat went live on May 6, 2008 with the organisation claiming “steady growth throughout what has been a tough summer for high street retailers”. In a statement Freesat said sales of high definition boxes had been helped by coverage of sporting events including Euro 2008, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.
Emma Scott, MD of Freesat went on to highlight concerns that people who have purchased an HD Ready set are often mistaken in thinking they are automatically receiving HD signals. “We want to help everyone understand that HD Ready is not the same thing as HD now. Without an HD digital receiver connected to an HD Ready TV or an integrated TV with Freesat HD built in you can’t watch an HD TV programme,” she said.
Freesat continues to look to its free HD offer as a means of differentiation, even though it still has just BBC HD and the part time ITV channel, accessed through the Red Button.
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