[Satellite TODAY 10-01-09] U.K. communications regulator Ofcom reported that 80 percent of TV screens in the United Kingdom receive digital TV services, the organization announced in its 2009 second quarter Digital TV Progress Report, released Sept. 29.
    The secondary U.K. TV set market remains healthy as well. According to Ofcom, 24.3 million secondary TV sets had been converted to digital by the end of June, up 15 percent in a year. The average U.K. home owns 2.4 TV sets.
    Satellite continues to play a key role in the move to digital in the U.K. BSkyB, the country’s largest pay-TV operator, has about 9.5 million subscribers. Freesat, the BBC/ITV free digital satellite service offering, was in 450,000 U.K. households by the end of June after adding 100,000 households in the second quarter.
    The report also found that more consumers are bundling their communications services with the same supplier. By the end of the second quarter, 16 percent of BSkyB customers purchased triple-play packages, an 11 percent growth from 2009. The number of Virgin Media customers taking three services or more reached a high of 58 percent, up from 53 percent in the first quarter.