The Award, created by the Digital TV Group, the industry association for digital TV in the UK, and Pace plc, the leading independent developer of digital TV technologies for the global pay [...]]]> freesat has won a close fought race to be declared the winner of the Pace/DTG ‘Best Contribution to Digital TV in the UK’ award.

The Award, created by the Digital TV Group, the industry association for digital TV in the UK, and Pace plc, the leading independent developer of digital TV technologies for the global pay TV industry, was presented at the IBC show in Amsterdam on the Pace stand last night (Friday 12 September).

It recognises the project, product or service that has made, or has the potential to make, the biggest contribution to the development of digital TV in the UK

The Freesat service won the award as it has “potential to provide HD to millions of viewers at an economical cost”, it is “pushing the boundaries of the specification to improve the viewer experience” and it “should form a vital element of helping to ensure the UK goes through a successful DSO process”, according to quotes from the voting members of the DTG Council.

Special commendations go to the BBC iPlayer launch on Virgin Media which was the close runner up for the Award. The voting panel commented that the BBC iPlayer service on the Virgin Media platform “has ignited the UK VOD market”, “is the first successful mainstream example of VOD to TV – and as such leads the way to the future” and is “a service that consumers clearly want to use”.

Freesat MD, Emma Scott, said, “Freesat is delighted to accept this award amidst some strong competition. It’s great recognition of the expertise and commitment that’s gone into launching and developing such a great service.”

“With the support of our shareholders BBC and ITV, as well as our channel, manufacturer and retail partners, we have delivered upon our promise of brilliant free digital TV for everyone and provided an excellent value option for those who want high definition TV without subscription. We are very much a vital piece in the future development of UK television.”

Neil Gaydon, Chief Executive Office at Pace plc, commented: “Technology innovation has been central to Pace’s success throughout our history and our reason for creating this Award. The Freesat service is an excellent example of how this industry is constantly evolving and how consumers are benefiting from new services to access digital TV services.”

Simon Gauntlett, Director of Technology at the Digital TV Group added: “The UK is one of the leading digital TV markets in Europe. We are leading the way in new technologies and penetration of services. The Freesat service is a leading example of how the UK has achieved this position, and why we remain at the forefront of the marketplace.”

The Award was voted for by the DTG Council.

Last year’s winner was BSkyB’s SkyHD service.

The Digital Progress Report for the first quarter of 2008 shows that the total number of digitally-linked sets has grown by [...]]]> Over two-thirds (68 per cent) of the 60 million television sets in the UK are now digitally – linked via cable, satellite or digital terrestrial – according to the latest figures from Ofcom published today.

The Digital Progress Report for the first quarter of 2008 shows that the total number of digitally-linked sets has grown by around 7 million from 33.5 million to 40.5 million over the past twelve months as householders focus on converting secondary television sets to digital.

The survey uses new consumer research which gives Ofcom a more accurate view of take-up of digital television in residential households. As a result of this new methodology, the figures for the previous quarter have been restated to allow for a like-for-like comparison.

Under the new methodology, the survey states that the total number of households who have converted their main television set to digital in January, February and March of 2008 was up slightly on the previous quarter from 86.5 per cent to 87.2 per cent.

Key trends for the first quarter of 2008 include:

DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION (DTT) – Freeview services

There are over 9.6 million homes with DTT on their main television set – an increase of almost 1.3 million over the past twelve months.
Nearly 14 million homes had converted secondary sets to DTT by the first quarter of 2008 bringing the total number of DTT sets to over 23 million.
There were more than 3 million sales of DTT equipment in the first quarter of this year. Of this, 1.9 million were integrated digital television sales (IDTV), up by 116 per cent on the same period last year and the highest first quarter sales for IDTV.
Since the launch of Freeview in 2002, the total number of DTT sales has exceeded 30 million.
There were around 400,000 homes with a DTT pay service

DIGTIAL SATELLITE SERVICES – Sky subscribers

Sky grew its UK subscriber base by 43,000 to 8.3 million households, an increase of 332,000 over the past twelve months
The number of Sky subscribers taking the Multiroom service, which allows viewers to receive Sky services on another television set, stood at nearly 1.6 million, an increase of 40,000 on the previous quarter and 274,000 additions over the past twelve months.
Sky+, the digital video service, saw another quarter of growth, adding 262,000 subscribers, taking the total number of subscribers with this service to almost 3.4 million, around 38 per cent of its customers.
Sky’s high definition service added 43,000 subscribers to reach 465,000 subscribers.
Ahead of the BBC/ITV launch of its Freesat service in May, some 720,0000 homes were receiving free satellite services by the end of March 2008.

CABLE TELEVISION – Virgin Media subscribers

The total number of cable subscribers is now over 3.5 million, up by 36,800 in the first quarter of this year.
An additional 102,000 cable viewers subscribed to Virgin Media’s digital video recorder service known as V+ during the quarter, bringing the total number of users to 364,200. This service can also be used with a high definition (HD) television set to watch HD services.
Almost half of Virgin Media customers (48 per cent) were using its video on demand service , with viewing up 10 per cent on the previous quarter