YouTube to hit living rooms across the UK with new Freesat service

Freesat has announced that YouTube will be available as a part of its premium service alongside the 180 other channels that are already available, including BBC iPlayer and ITV Player.

Since its launch in 2008, Freesat has sold 3 million products and taken gross retail sales well over £1 billion. In the third quarter of 2012 the company added 55,000 new households, surpassing both BT Vision (20,000) and Sky (25,000).

Emma Scott, Freesat’s Managing Director, said that YouTube, which reaches an average of 800 million views each month, have joined them at a time of “rapid growth” and that the partnership between Freesat and YouTube will offer Freesat viewers “an exclusive, first view of their latest version – previously unseen on free to air TV in the UK.”

The YouTube channel will be available from March 2013 as part of Freesat’s new internet-connected TV box which costs £279. Built on HTML 5, it will offer high-definition viewing for all Freesat Premium customers and will be available to watch on-demand.