The ITC (who are little biased in this regard) reckon the growth of digital television is such that it will overtake the internet in terms of uptake later this year. They reckon 10 million homes currently have digital TV, while 11 million have internet access. "If current growth rates are sustained, digital TV take-up is on target to exceed internet penetration in the UK later this year," an ITC spokesman told reporters yesterday.
The growth is down to the popularity of the one-off-charge Freeview system, and the continuing growth of Sky Digital. When you take in digital cable services, they reckon nearly half of all homes in Britain will have access to digital TV by the end of year.
The same report presented bad news from those digital TV systems that come down high speed internet connection – such as the Home Choice 'TV on demand' systems. Despite seeming to be where the future of TV truly is (a library of programmes you can activate at any time) these systems have seen a fall in customer base in the last year. The companies behind these services could well find themselves being too ahead of their time to survive.