Loading ...Freesat is to launch its new Autumn advertising campaign on Saturday 7 November 2009.
The campaign focuses mainly on the Freesat+ and Freesat HD services, using TV fans to illustrate the benefits of pausing, recording and rewinding live TV and the experience of watching in HD television, all for free.
Shot in slow motion to create warmth and atmosphere, the ad features coloured plectrums from the Freesat logo falling like snowflakes around the viewers as they’re drawn into the world of Freesat. The ad finishes on rooftops at dusk with thousands of plectrums raining down from the sky and the Freesat brand line, “brilliant for everyone”.
The campaign will first be seen on Saturday evening on ITV1 during ‘Life Stories’ with Piers Morgan and follows the success of Freesat’s Easter advertising that helped drive a 50% sales increase over the summer and saw Freesat overtake BT Vision to become the 4th biggest TV service in the UK.
Will Abbott, Freesat marketing and communications director commented;
Freesat is going from strength to strength and the new campaign reinforces our position as the UK’s premium free TV service. With new Freesat+ HD recorders launching in time for Christmas, and high definition from the BBC and ITV already available nationwide, subscription-free, we’re looking forward to a strong finish to the year.
Owen Lee, creative director at Farm said;
Freesat has successfully established itself as the best digital TV platform by far for people who expect brilliant TV for free. This campaign elevates the brand and captures the magical experience of brilliant TV for everyone.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Anything to help raise the profile – especially after the Harvard debacle.
Had a doorstep SKY salesman on Saturday, who got quite shirty when I said I was not interested as I had Freesat. His response was that it was rubbish, no channels and that no-one knew about it! He was surprised to hear that over half a million are out there!
So, more promotion has got to be a good thing.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
Would it not have been better to announce more HD channels to boost sales at christmas time ?.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:38 am
A $ky salesman saying Freesat is rubbish.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 am
@Paul
It must be more like 750,000 by now.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
But when will Freesat bring in BBC iPlayer? – that will see numbers soar!
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I would not advise anyone getting Freesat HD at the moment. There is only one real HD channel and that is mainly repeats. They should also checkout the picture quality as BBC HD is only as good as a DVD now. According to BARB the viewing figures for BBC HD actually dropped in August.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
@Prison Warden – “A $ky salesman saying Freesat is rubbish”.
I would have had great delight in telling him that the content on Sky is rubbish. (LOL)
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
@Ian H
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/bbc-iplayer-beta-testing-to-begin-this-month
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:14 pm
@Trevor Harris your DVD player must be impressive then!. Though I admit the recent bitrate reduction has reduced the wow factor of BBC HD. I still can’t really understand the reason for the bitrate reductions, if it was to create room to launch a new HD Channel where is it…..A new HD channel launch would be a nice xmas gift ….
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:33 pm
@Trevor Harris
‘ BBC HD is only as good as a DVD now.’
Er not correct Dvd is 720×576 resolution. BBC HD is 1440×1088.
‘There is only one real HD channel and that is mainly repeats’
‘Attack of the Clones’, Escape from New York’, Champions League and FA cup live all look pretty real to me. Also the ITV HD simulcast will be starting later this year so no more red button.
Top Gear is starting on BBC HD this month and iplayer is coming soon.
What’s not to like for no subscription TV?
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Tony (10) – well said! I find plenty of good quality new HD stuff to watch on BBC and ITV. There could be more, I’ll admit, but it’s still better than paying £30+ per month (or however much it is these days) for hundreds of channels that i’d never watch.
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I find ITV offering more than real as I too enjoy the footie, movies and things like Doc Martin.
Freesat is a gem of a find for anybody that thinks only SKY are available through a dish, and I find a lot of people surprised to hear about this platform.
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Of course Sky do offer a more diverse choice but they do charge a fair whack for it. I am happy with the choice Freesat gives me. If there is anything I want to watch which is not on Freesat I need only wait for the box set which can often be picked up for the cost of one months Sky rental.
Only complaint is lack of HD channels. ITV and Channel 4 should get their act together or they will lose more of their market share!
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:39 pm
there is no room for four, wish there was some one NEEDS to make room.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
UK’s premium free TV service. With new Freesat+ HD recorders launching in time for Christmas,
Does that there will be a new HUMAX FOXSAT HDR???
November 4th, 2009 at 2:28 am
Here’s some information on BBC HD picture quality.
http://www.zen97962.zen.co.uk/
Check out the slides which I pulled together showing how bitrates don’t add up at BBC HD
November 4th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
BBC iplayer is a great addition but I have no plans of switching to freesat until Dave and Viva (formally known as TMF) sign up. Also the Freesat + boxes are £100 over priced.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Keiran@17
If you’ve been paying the “Murdoch Empire” anywhere between £18 basic to nearly £60 for a full package for Sky+, then I think you’ll find what you pay for a Foxsat HDR will pay for itself very quickly.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:11 am
@ Kieran. Dave will not go on Freesat. You’ll have a long wait.
@ Tony Hales. There are no plans for an ITV HD simulcast on Freesat.
@ AlexR. There’s no point comparing a Sky subscription, which is for content with a piece of hardware that connect receive said content.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Derek500
Keiran was saying that Freesat+ Boxes are overpriced.
I gradually reduced my Sky Sub over 18 months or so to a basic Sky Package costing £18 a month.
I dumped it for a Foxsat HDR as I was only really paying for the Sky+ Function to record as I didn’t really watch very much that I couldn’t get with a Freesat box and I wanted at least a bit of HD to watch on my HD TV.
It is therefore very relevant that it will pay for itself in a year as in my case.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
@ AlexR Keiran was saying he wouldn’t switch to Freesat until it gets Dave.
You did the right thing. If you weren’t watching the pay or FTV channels there is no point paying Sky.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
@derek 500 Where is your evidence that there are no plans for an itv hd simulcast on freesat?
That’s not what it say here so has something changed and if so why was it not announced on joinfreesat?
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/itv-announce-itv-hd-simulcast-plans
November 8th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
The sky adverts make me laugh, for just £18.85 a month you can get one sky pack. Then you can add more packs for just £1 (there being 6 packs all together). Then you can pick from skys 2 moive packs £8 each. Next they ask you do you want a skysports pack each cost £8 each. Not forgeting the box which cost £49 + £30 setup fee.
Total monthly cost of everything £66.25 = £795 a year
And due to the VAT change from 1/1/10 the normal packs increase by 50p each and the movie and sports packs £1 each.
November 8th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
@Tony Hales Admin updated that thread on post 67.
November 11th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I moved from Sky to Freesat in March this year, and it’s the best thing I ever did.
I had 4 faulty Sky+HD boxes in a row and got so fed-up of the terrible ‘customer support’ at Sky that I cancelled my subscription. Why should I pay over £50 a month for shoddy, poor quality equipment and countless obscure channels that I hardly ever watch?
Since dumping Sky, my Humax HDPVR box has paid for itself within 5 months. For me, the case for Freesat is well and truly rested
)
November 11th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
~ carkid If you were paying over £50 per month you weren’t paying for obscure channels. Those are all on Freesat or non-Freesat mode already!! You were paying for high quality HD sports, movie and entertainment channels.
Of course if you weren’t watching the stuff that Sky and other channels pay millions to acquire, then you’re better off not subscribing.
November 12th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I know exactly what I was paying for derek500, and quite frankly I felt I could do without it.
November 12th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Next Sunday evening BBC HD is pretty good starting off with the new Doctor Who story at 19:00, Top Gear at 21:00, Garrod’s Law at 22:00 and Ray Mears Northern Wilderness at 23:00. So what is ITV showing in HD on Sunday? Not much as usual!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
@ Kevin ITV will still slaughter the opposition though SD or HD!!
It’s crazy that Sky did Noel’s HQ live in HD/DD5.1 from Fountain but ITV can’t be bothered to do the biggest show on TV, X Factor in HD.
November 13th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I think that ITV have relied too much on a small number of shows such as X Factor, I’m a celebrity get me out of here and the soaps. In contrast the BBC have been developing a fair number of new shows and talent many of which in HD. It seems the BBC are looking ahead while ITV execs stick their heads in the sand.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:35 am
One of FreeSat’s best selling points is the free HD content from BBC HD & ITV HD. But because they have no room for CH4HD, it now seems that FREE VIEW will soon have an advantage over FreeSat in that they will have CH 4 HD before FreeSat !!!!!!!!
November 14th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
How much of C4 output is in HD? Unless it is significant (unlike IT) it would not be worth investing in a new freeview box.
November 15th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
@Kevin A fair amount. Apart from movies and US imports there’s a good range of programmes like Jamie Oliver, Peep Show, Come Dine with Me, Location, Location, Hollyoaks, Skins, Shameless and many documentary type progs.
The big bonus is of course all SD programmes are upscaled to an excellent picture quality.
November 16th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Derek500, there is nothing exciting me in that list. Channel 4 is becoming more of a minority channel.
ITV HD has stuff worth watching and hopefully soon there will be a lot more of it.
I know I keep banging on about this but freesat users will be very disappointed when ch4hd arrives.
I have sky hd and my most watched HD channels are still BBC HD and ITV HD. I may well cancel at the end of my first year.
I thought channel 4 hd was going to be brilliant, it was the first channel I tuned to when the sky installer left the house, but the fact is that most of its films etc are not in HD.
November 16th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Looking at the list of HD content from C4, there are a number of programs I do watch. ITV HD content is fine if you like football, but hopeless with a few exceptions. So far the only HD shows I have watched are Doc Martin and the two part cat program with Joanna Lumley. I have heard that ITV will be showing the new version of the Prisoner in HD so something else worth waiting for.
In any case ITV are only showing four programs in HD in the next 7 days. Compared to BBC HD with 97. That does include repeats but is signifcantly better than ITV. If ITV carry on with their current policy then I would prefer C4 to take over the HD baton on Freesat.