LONDON - BSkyB has passed the 9m subscriber mark after it added more than 400,000 taking Sky + and a record number signing up to Sky+ HD service.

Sky has finished the quarter ended September 30 with 9,067,000 customers.

Sky+ HD subscribers grew by 93,000 to 591,000. The company credited growing awareness of HD and availability of content such as the Olympics for the growth, in addition to its price cut on the service by £99 to £150.

Sky’s broadband and telephony services attracted more sign-ups, with broadband now in 20% of Sky homes thanks to 164,000 new customers and telephony in 15% of Sky homes with 120,000 new customers.

Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of Sky, said: “This is a good set of results in a challenging environment. Over nine million customers now enjoy the best in entertainment through Sky and, in tougher times, we’re helping more people to save money on broadband and telephony as well.”

To find out how you can join the growing Sky family give one of our digital experts a call on 0800 1388 388 or click here to compare sky to other suppliers.

Written by chris

Written by chris

Simplifydigital commissioned a YouGov poll earlier this year and found that over one in three adults (39%) are not making the most of the huge money savings that are available if they choose to bundle.  On average £160 could be saved per year from taking the bundling route. Our CEO commented on the findings:

“There are big savings to be had by bundling, but the real trick is choosing the right bundle to match your needs. Until now there has been no place to go for impartial advice as to which one to take, which is exactly what our digital experts specialise in at Simplifydigital. With our help finding the best bundle, we could certainly put money back in people’s pockets.”

For the more savvy 31% who have already opted for the bundle option that includes digital TV, broadband and home phone, over four in five said that the quality of service (87%) and overall costs (82%) had been better or the same from using one service provider.

Worryingly, many people are not doing their research before signing up to digital TV or broadband. Only 24% said they did extensive research before signing up to these services. Ponsonby concluded:

“The falling cost of broadband coupled with ever-increasing competition in the digital TV market means it’s vital that families do their research in order to get the perfect package. The mass of conflicting advertising can make broadband and digital TV seem unnecessarily complicated and confusing, resulting in customers possibly missing out on the ideal service. Our team is able to search through over 530,000 different package options on our database in a matter of minutes, which would take the average person over two years if they took two minutes to review each one.”

The report found 24% of the pay-TV customers surveyed said they were planning on ‘stripping down’ their pay-TV package including sports and movie channels.

According to the research, Freeview has now become a popular choice for cash strapped consumers. The survey found 15% had chosen subscription-free Freeview because of cash concerns. An additional 13% of responders’ said they planned to switch to Freeview within the next year for the same reason.

At Simplifydigital, we know that there are great savings to be made simply by finding the right package for you. We’re already helping confused consumers save money every day. To find out how much you could save, give us a call or use our online digital services comparison tool.  

Written by lee

There could be more good news on the way for TV viewers who want to watch their favourite shows in High Definition (HD).

Last week Ofcom announced that they are reserving two Freeview slots for new HD services. One of those slots is for ITV while the other has gone to Channel 4/S4C.

The BBC will also be broadcasting its HD service on Freeview and viewers in the Granada region should be able to watch these three services from late 2009.

The Freeview HD services will then be available on a region by region basis as the country gradually moves from analogue to digital TV over the next 4 years.

But viewers in some UK cities, including London, could be watching these HD channels sooner than was first thought.

Ofcom are looking at whether spectrum could be made temporarily available so that the new HD services on Freeview can be rolled out earlier.

Simplifydigital’s guide to HDTV

 High definition TV is still very young in the UK, but is well and truly coming of age – Beijing was the first Olympics in history to be broadcast in high definition and the BBC showed over 300 hours of HD content during the games. And Sky, the UK’s leading HD broadcaster, now has over half a million subscribers having only launched their service in mid 2006.

 Moreover, all the big players see HD as the “next big thing” for television in the UK and are investing heavily to greatly increase the variety of high definition (HD) content available to watch. But HD viewing doesn’t come cheap and the breadth and depth of content on offer varies significantly across the various platforms offering high definition content.

So what is “high definition” and does it live up to the hype?

 To view content in high definition you first need a “HD Ready” TV.  This is a TV set which has many more pixels per square inch (4 times more than a standard set) allowing it to show pictures in far greater detail and with much more vibrant colours, but only if the content that it is showing is being transmitted in high definition. So you will need the right TV and a set top box able to receive and decode a high definition signal. HD signals are also broadcast in surround sound making for a much richer sound as well as visual experience.

 So in a nutshell, to enjoy HDTV you will need to make sure you have the following:

1.      A TV capable of displaying high-definition pictures
2.      A receiver that can decode the high definition signal, such Sky’s HD box or Virgin’s V+ box
3.      A TV package that includes high definition programmes.

 What is currently shown in HD?

If you walk past a TV showing content in HD you will notice a big difference – in fact so proud are new HD viewers that they often ask their friends round to gawp at the clarity of the picture. Most viewers find that HD is particularly impressive for sporting events, documentaries and to a lesser extent movies and dramas. Football in HD for example is a huge improvement on the standard TV experience – with players (and the crowd!) visible in extraordinary clarity

What does it cost?

For the budget HD viewer who is happy to watch only BBC and ITV programming in HD, then Freesat is a good choice. A Freesat HD box will cost around £150, with an additional £80 for the satellite dish and installation. However there is no monthly cost and no contract. The HD content will feel limited, but Freesat does have the added attraction of many additional channels to watch in standard definition.

 For those looking for a bit more, then Virgin Media represents great value. In addition to the BBC and Channel 4 HD channels they also offer a vast library of high definition content available on-demand through their V+ box. Prices start at £15/month for the basic TV service with a phone line, plus £5 for the V+ subscription. The V+ box also lets you pause and record live TV.

 For anyone who is serious about watching HD, then Sky offers the largest selection of HD channels and programming in the UK, covering the whole spectrum of content – from all the premium sporting action, to a large range of movies and documentaries. The Sky+ HD box also has all the features of a Sky+ box so that you can pause and record live TV. Prices start at £17/month for the basic Sky TV package, plus £10/month for the

HD subscription.

Is HD right for me?

To find out more about the HD services that are available in your area, simply give one of our experts a call or use our online digital services comparison tool.

Written by lee

With more than 530,000 different broadband, digital TV and telephone service package combinations to choose from, shopping for a telecoms bundle can be a time-consuming chore. Simplify Digital claims to help narrow your search with recommendations based on your personal needs. Which? delivers its verdict in this First Look review.

As a Which? subscriber you also have access to;

• 1,000s of product reviews
• 1,200 UK restaurant reviews
• 200 car reviews
• FREE telephone helpline
• 3 years’ worth of magazine archives

Simplify Digital is available online as well as over the phone
Simplify Digital bills itself as a free, impartial digital concierge service. It’s available online, over the phone via a freephone number, or through third-party partners including Sainsbury’s, the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph.
All strands of the service work in the same way: you submit your digital TV, broadband and phone requirements and Simplify Digital recommends packages that match your needs. This differs from rival services such as uSwitch and Money Supermarket, which typically take just a few basic details (such as postcode) and then list the cheapest headline deals from each major supplier. It also goes one step further. If you decide to take up Simplify Digital’s recommendation, the company will also set up and oversee the switching process for you. The service is accredited by telecoms industry regulator Ofcom and holds the Ofcom Price Accreditation Scheme logo. This means the company’s digital TV, broadband and home phone comparison engine has been recognised for providing an unbiased and transparent service.

Will I get a better deal with Simplify digital?
You’ll be asked about your requirements before Simplify Digital makes recommendations
To test it out, we asked five volunteers to try Simplify Digital’s online and phone services.
All found both the website and phone services approachable, convenient and easy to use and the majority were offered a cheaper deal that met their requirements and approval. Our testers preferred the flexibility of the phone service over the website, as it gave them the opportunity to ask questions, discuss their requirements and give more detailed information about what they were looking for. Over the phone, no pressure was felt to take up the recommendation and most were offered a good ‘top match’ recommendation as well as similar alternatives. They also appreciated the chance to get recommendations sent to them for consideration in their own time. Out testers felt he online service, which involves answering a short questionnaire, was a useful guide, but less helpful overall. This is mainly due to the one way nature of the internet and the inevitable constraints of choosing options through rigid search tools. For example, we would have liked a wider choice of TV channel requirements (rather than just premium sport and movies), the ability to search for phone deals that include overseas calls and information about achievable broadband speeds in different areas. Simplify Digital’s website does, however, give you more insightful recommendations than rival sites. In particular, we liked the range of options available for narrowing down the types of TV, broadband and phone package you’re interested in. These options include HD TV, the ability to record and pause TV, a choice of broadband download speeds, the option to search for mobile (as well as conventional) broadband deals and a choice of the times you’d like to have free calls.

Picking your package
Results are displayed clearly on Simplify Digital’s website
Online results are ordered first by the number of requirements met and then price. Package summaries are detailed and clearly presented, and we liked the way not all recommendations are single-provider bundles. For example, a recommendation could be a BT phone line matched with Zen broadband and Freeview TV, saving you time constructing your own bespoke combination. However, prices are ranked primarily by initial discounts rather than the long-term monthly costs, so you’ll need to check the long-term price of each deal. And while it is made clear where you have to pay for a BT phone service on top of the monthly fee, the reported savings don’t take this into account, so could be misleading. The site does not explain the differences between your current deal and the site’s recommendations. It would also be helpful if it explained any differences in the TV packages on offer, and what type and what differences there are in the broadband services (for example, any fair use policy and the fact that cable gets closer to advertised speeds than ADSL). This is of course not so much of a problem using Simplify Digital over the phone, where you more free to ask questions about recommendations.It’s a good idea to write down any questions you have before making the call to ensure you get the most out of the recommendations.

Which? verdict
Simplify Digital is a very helpful tool if you’re confused about digital media options and aren’t sure how to get the best deal to suit your needs.
The website is great for narrowing down your options, but is by no means exhaustive. For a personalised recommendation that’s likely to suit your needs and budget, you’re best off speaking to one of the service’s advisers over the phone. But the Simplify Digital website still compares favourably to other online comparison tools, with much greater flexibility than its rivals.
Our testers felt Simplify Digital felt like a genuine service rather than a sales mechanism, and its flexibility really sets it apart from other comparison tools. It’s a unique service that’s particularly suitable for less tech-savvy consumers looking for a better bundle deal.
Pros: Free to use, personalised recommendations, whole market comparison, available online or over the phone, no pressure selling, accredited by Ofcom
Cons: Website lacks advanced search options, doesn’t always take into account full set-up costs

One point about us that is incorrect so we’d want to point this out:
“However, prices are ranked primarily by initial discounts rather than the long-term monthly costs, so you’ll need to check the long-term price of each deal.”

In fact, our results are currently ordered by the package that meets the highest number of a user’s unique requirements, and then further sorted by monthly cost.  We completely agree that ordering the results by initial discounts does not always provide the customer with the best option over the course of the contract.   Therefore, our results are displayed firstly on a user’s unique requirements, and then ordered by first year cost including line rental and subscription.   Customers will still be able to see monthly, set up and equipment costs separately.

Written by matt