Freeview box sales pass 10m landmark

Sales of Freeview set-top boxes IDTVs have passed the 10 million landmark.

The DTT service, launched in 2002, now reaches 6.4 million homes, compared to 8 million subscriptions for Sky and 3 million for cable.

Over a third more Freeview products were sold in the first part of this year than last, figures show: 70,000 set-top boxes went in January alone. Sales of hard-disk recorders with built-in decoders and digitally-enabled TV sets have added to growth.

Freeview head Ilse Howling said the larger range of channels now offered – including youth oriented offerings – is attracting a younger audience.