The UK reached 8.9mn digital video recorders (DVRs) sold by the end of last March, with nearly 1mn units added in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest figures from the country's communications watchdog, Ofcom.

Ofcom's Digital Progress Report found that there are now around 5mn Sky customers with a Sky+ service, around 600,000 customers of cable operator Virgin Media with a V+ account, a further 600,000 homes with IPTV service BT Vision or Top Up TV (a pay variant of DTT platform Freeview), and over 2.6mn Freeview digital video recorders on the market.

Meanwhile, the number of standalone Freeview receivers sold fell by 28% in the quarter, with integrated digital televisions accounting for nearly 73% of the 3.4mn DTT-enabled equipment units sold in the three-month period.  An estimated 9.8mn of the UK's 22.7mn digital TV homes rely on DTT reception alone for their television service.

High-definition continue to make solid progress in the country, with 1.9mn households in the UK now receiving linear HD channels, according to Ofcom.  The report also indicates that the total number of digital households reached 89.2 per cent with digital switchover now underway in the West Country, Border and the Isle of Man.