HDTV has finally established a firm foothold in the UK, with Sky announcing that in the past year the number of homes receiving Sky HD has doubled to over one million.
The broadcaster also claims it sold a Sky+HD box every 30 seconds during the first three months of this year. Not at all bad considering we’re currently in the grip of a recession – or perhaps the financial situation has convinced people that their money would be better spent on staying in and watching Sky HD than going out?
We reckon this is one of the contributing factors to Sky HD’s success, alongside a vast improvement in the content and number of channels and the drop in price of the Sky+HD box to £75 for new subscribers (early adopters had to shell out £300).
Sky HD has also enjoyed a fairly easy ride in terms of rivals, with neither Freesat nor Virgin Media managing to deliver what feels like a full-on HDTV service. Freesat offers two HD channels (for free, mind you) while Virgin Media offers only one (BBC HD) plus a selection of on demand HD content. Sky HD, meanwhile, features Anytime on demand plus 33 HD broadcast channels.
Out now | From £75 plus subscription | Sky HD
