Figures released by Digital UK show that sales of television sets increased by 10% in the year to October 2008. EU legislation on the sale of analogue product and a significant increase in the availability of IDTVs took the proportion of digital sets sold in October to 90%, an increase from 68% in October 2007, and creating a new record.
David Scott, chief executive of the switchover body said: “With household budgets under pressure, the extra channels and features that come with digital TV offer great value entertainment. It’s also good news that in opting to buy digital, more households than ever are ready for the switch to digital TV which will affect more than five million homes next year.”
The data compiled by retail analysts GfK included data from more than 7,000 electrical multiples, supermarkets, online stores and independent retailers. £3.5 billion was spent on digital TVs in the year to October 2008, compared to £2.8 billion in the previous 13 months.
Yesterday, Ofcom’s Digital Progress Report showed that by the end of September 2008, 88.2% of households had digital TV on their main set. However, there has been a marked slowdown in new households converting to digital.
The slight discrepancy between the figures may be explained by the sharp rise in digital TV on secondary sets to 60% as set-top boxes previously attached to the main set find their way into kitchens and bedrooms.
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