New figures we’ve released today reveal that Sky is now Britain’s number one connected TV platform.

More than 4.4 million Sky customers are now enjoying On Demand TV from Sky, which includes the UK’s biggest Catch Up TV service. That’s an increase of more than a million in the last three months alone - or, to put it another way, an average of 11,000 customers connecting their Sky+HD box to broadband each day.

2013 was a record-breaking year for on demand viewing on Sky, with more than 450 million on demand viewing requests through Sky+HD boxes, double that of 2012. Additionally, there were also 770 million viewing requests on Sky Go, up from 590m in 2012. In total, Sky customers requested 1.2 billion shows through their Sky+HD box on demand or with Sky Go – averaging 38 requests per second.

Today’s figures also reveal new highs during the festive period for our connected TV services. During Christmas week, Sky customers set a new weekly record with a total of 35 million viewing requests to their Sky+HD box or smartphone, tablet or computer. This is up more than 50% on the previous Christmas and represents a new weekly record for our connected TV services. On average, connected Sky TV homes downloaded more than five on demand TV shows or movies to their Sky+HD box alone during Christmas week.

Sky Store also enjoyed its best ever week over Christmas, with a total of well over half a million movies rented through the service over the seven days. There was also record viewing of TV Box Sets in December, with Grey’s Anatomy, The Sopranos and Desperate Housewives all being downloaded more than a million times each.

And as the trend for on demand viewing continues to rise, this spring will see the biggest shake up to Sky’s electronic programme guide (EPG) since its introduction in 1998.

The Sky Guide redesign will make it easier than ever to find on demand content. A brand new homepage will showcase all the viewing options available to Sky TV customers, including Catch Up TV, TV Box Sets, Sky+ Planner and Sky Store, as well as the live TV Guide. It means that for the first time ever, Sky customers can see all the content available to them up front, rather than drop into the live TV Guide and navigate from there. The new homepage will also let customers instantly search for their favourite content across all live and on demand content on Sky.

The growth in watching TV on demand has also been fuelled by our continued investment in great content throughout 2013. Key developments over the year have included the launch of 31 new Catch Up channels on Sky+HD, taking the total to 60 – the UK’s largest Catch Up TV service. Four of these are launching this week: Dave, Gold, Watch and Alibi.

We’ve also launched 20 new channels on Sky Go, bringing the total number available through the service to 57 – the widest range of channels available on the move from any pay-TV provider in Britain. The choice of viewing on Sky Go will be improved yet further with the launch of live and on demand shows from ITV, part of a wider partnership with ITV announced yesterday.

And finally, we’ve added even more TV Box Sets of the latest and greatest shows. Sky customers with a connected Sky+HD box were able to choose from a total of 2,800 hours of TV Box Sets in December - double the total available a year before.

We’re passionate about giving our customers their favourite content however they want to watch and will continue to make Sky’s connected TV services even bigger and better during 2014, including an enhanced EPG that makes it even easier to find on demand content.

To access Sky’s On Demand service, Sky TV customers simply need to connect their Sky+HD set-top box to broadband.

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