YouView is now being used in 400,000 homes across the UK, with the set-top box only launched eight months ago.
Claiming it to be the fastest-growing TV service in Britain, YouView CEO Richard Halton has revealed the company’s first official user figures since it was launched in July last year.
“We’ve had a great start and we’re delighted to have received such a positive response from consumers,” said Halton. “YouView is in 400,000 homes in the UK.”
TalkTalk recently revealed that it had installed 230,000 YouView boxes since launch, with the remainder of the sales coming from BT and retail sales. The majority of the YouView set-top boxes are sold as part of broadband bundles from BT and Talk Talk, but can also be bought separately from retailers like John Lewis for £299.
The company also stated that 2.2 million video streams are viewed per week via the YouView set-top box.
“We are far from resting on our laurels. If launching was crossing the start line, this is the first marker.”
Almost two-thirds of its viewers watch on-demand programmes each week, with weekly viewing times mounting up to an average of three hours per viewer.
Using the YouView set-top box, viewers can watch on-demand content from the majority of the main broadcasters including the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player or 4OD.
“YouView figures show on-demand is becoming mainstream viewing,” said Halton.
It was also revealed that Peppa Pig and Mickey Mouse Club House childrens’ TV shows were the top-most played content via the on-demand services.
YouView announced that it would be adding internet subscription channels to its current offerings in the summer.
“Seamless access to content is at the heart of the YouView proposition and we are delighted to announce that internet channels are set to launch this summer as well as the extension of our app strategy to the Android platform. YouView is taking catch-up TV into the mainstream.”
The company added that an Android YouView app will be released “in the next couple of weeks”, and will mirror the iPhone app functionality but on Google OS devices running Android 2.3 and up, such as the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.
Next, read our YouView TV set-top box the Humax DTR-T1000.
