60% Digital
Ofcom have today reported that digital TV has reached nearly 60% penetration.
In the last quarter:
Sky has grown by around 2.5%
Freeview's grown by 17.3%
Cable's gown by 0.5%
Pretty obviously, Freeview's driving this forward. And there's still not a real free-to-view satellite option since there's no way of getting cards to watch ITV, C4 or Five if you're not a Sky subscriber.
In the meantime, the cheapest TV at Argos with integrated Freeview is £269 in a 28" widescreen TV. No television smaller than this includes an integrated digital decoder. So if you don't want something as big as a 28" telly, you have to get a separate box if you shop at Argos.
The same is true at Dixons where they're called "interactive digital TVs". And at Currys the cheapest set with integrated features is £323.
Unbeatable wasn't much help either.
Indeed I've not been able to find any televisions less than 28" that have a Freeview adapter built in. All those smaller sets and portables will be obselete in less than five years in some places, unless they have a set-top box added to them. Manufacturers really need to wake up to this fact because it makes a mockery of any proposed switch-off that I can't replace a portable TV at the moment with something that's even the smallest bit futureproof.
