UK DVR ownership, HD access grow, says Ofcom report

More TV viewers in the UK are using DVRs, and the number of UK households with access to HDTV channels is growing, according to the latest figures from UK communications regulator Ofcom.

In its latest quarterly report on the progress of DTV, Ofcom reports that a total of 8.9 million DVRs have been sold in the UK. The Digital Progress Report reveals that nearly 1 million DVRS were sold in the UK in the first quarter of 2009.

In the aggregate, DVR customers in the UK include:

· Nearly 5 million Sky customers using the Sky+ service;

· More than 2.6 million Freeview DVRs, such as Freeview +;

· About 600,000 Virgin Media subscribers with a V+ service; and

· About 600,000 households with BT Vision and Top Up TV.

The report, released June 29, finds that 1.9 million UK households now also have access to HDTV channels.

Other highlights of the report include:

• Eighteen million households in the first quarter had at a digital terrestrial TV device connected to at least one set, up from 17.7 million in the previous quarter;
• The number of BSkyB customers grew by 80,000 for the quarter in the UK and Ireland to more than 9.3 million, an increase of 430,000 year over year; and
• The number of cable TV customers reached 3.65 million, an increase of about 137,000 in 12 months.

IBC2009 in Amsterdam, Sept. 10-15, will offer several conference sessions on DTV including:

• “Digital Russia, Today and Tomorrow,” Thursday, Sept. 10
• “Content security — Ensuring content is not misused,” Friday, Sept. 11
• “Digital transmission — Experiences and developments,” Saturday, Sept. 12
• “Making HDTV a reality in production and delivery,” Saturday, Sept. 12
• “Can you see the ball? HD content on a handheld screen,” Sunday, Sept. 13
• “Multichannel HDTV without a dish,” Monday, Sept. 14
• “The future of digital television,” Monday, Sept. 14