Freeview news

Three-Quarters of Australian Households Switch to Digital TV

06 August 2010

Three in four Australian households have made the switch to digital television, with the most impressive increases coming from the two largest cities of Sydney and Melbourne.

Freeview has welcomed the latest digital TV conversion figures released by the Federal Government’s Digital Switchover Taskforce, which show the largest quarterly increase for the second consecutive time in the number of Australian homes that are able to receive free-to-view digital television.

In the June quarter, 74 per cent of households made the switch to digital TV – an increase of six percentage points over the previous quarter. The greatest growth, however, occurred in Sydney and Melbourne, which surged 10 per cent (to 71 per cent) and 13 per cent (to 77 per cent) respectively, according to the Digital Tracker Summary Report for Quarter 2, April to June 2010.

Freeview CEO Robin Parkes said the latest figures proved beyond doubt that the majority of Australians were switching to digital TV because they recognise that Freeview provides the best quality free-to-view programming.

“It is a real milestone for Freeview that now three quarters of Australian households are able to receive digital TV, but what is particularly pleasing for us is that the two biggest TV markets of Sydney and Melbourne are leading the growth,” she said.

Since the first quarterly report published by the Digital Switchover Taskforce in Q1 2009, conversion to digital TV has risen by 26 percentage points.

Ms Parkes said that the historic digital switchover in Mildura on June 30 has seen 99 per cent of households convert to digital by early July.

“The latest Digital Tracker figures show that Australian households are willing to make the switch to digital TV and have an increasingly positive attitude towards digital conversion. With 16 Freeview channels and so much fantastic content for free, there’s no longer any need to pay for TV,” she added.

Every quarter, the Digital Tracker asks Australian households about their awareness of the switchover program, understanding of what needs to be done to convert to digital, their attitudes to the switchover, their intention to convert, conversion status and satisfaction.

Ms Parkes said that the launch in June of Freeview’s Electronic Program Guide (EPG), which delivers a significantly enhanced viewing experience for consumers across the Freeview channels, is expected to drive more interest in digital TV conversion among Australian households. The EPG will be launched to consumers in September.
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