Freeview Adds More Than 40000 Homes

Since New Zealand made the move to digital-only television broadcasting in December 2013, Freeview has continued to grow from strength to strength, as new results reveal.  

Latest figures released from Colmar Brunton* show Freeview is now being used in 67% of homes, up 2.45%, or up 40,900 homes since digital switchover.

Sam Irvine, General Manager at Freeview, says, "We're really pleased with these results. We've seen a big spike in the sales of MyFreeview digital TV recorders, which can be attributed to Kiwis wanting to record international high profile sporting events like the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

"Due to time zone differences, the games are often difficult to watch live and the benefit of devices like this is providing viewers with greater flexibility and freedom to watch programmes that are free to air on TV, at a time that suits them."

Mr Irvine also adds that the viewing behaviour of Kiwis continues to evolve as new platforms and popular international TV shows emerge.

"The recent launch of MediaWorks' latest multi-platform channel - The Edge TV, as well as the launch of TV 29, a Chinese language channel, illustrates Kiwis still have a keen appetite to watch a wide variety of content, both local and international. For example, the most popular viewing in New Zealand at the moment is unsurprisingly the FIFA World Cup, but British series like Broadchurch and American television series such as House of Cards are also faring exceptionally well too," adds Irvine.

Moreover, research also showed that homes with Freeview | HD reported having a better viewing experience.

"We're seeing a bigger increase in the number of homes who previously had Freeview satellite, now migrating to Freeview | HD. This is because of the superior picture and sound quality of Freeview | HD as well as free high definition programming on TV One, TV2 and TV3," concludes Mr Irvine.

Freeview continue to explore new options for improving the viewing experience for New Zealanders and plan to  announce further developments later in the year.

*Colmar Brunton National Research

ENDS

More information regarding the current Freeview service and future plans can be found on Freeview's website:  www.freeviewnz.tv.

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