PRESS RELEASE
Panasonic selects Freesat's award-winning Freetime service to power new Panasonic smart TVs in a landmark agreement
Agreement creates first free-to-air connected TV service across satellite and terrestrial
Freetime features include Roll Back TV guide, all major On Demand players and great programme recommendations through Showcase
Panasonic has today announced a landmark deal which will see Freesat's award-winning Freetime service available in new Panasonic VIERA smart TVs. As a result, Panasonic TV viewers will now be able to enjoy the great benefits of Freesat's Freetime service for the first time whether they take their TV channels by aerial or satellite.
Owners of the new range of Panasonic VIERA TVs* will be able to use Freetime to roll back their TV guide for the past seven days, access all the major On Demand services including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5, and receive great daily programme recommendations.
Freetime has been extremely successful since launch in September 2012, with Freetime boxes now accounting for over 40% of all Freesat set-top box sales.
Craig Cunningham, Panasonic's TV Product Manager, said: "We've had a long standing relationship with Freesat and I'm really excited that we are the first manufacturer to have the Freetime service on our TVs. Research tells us that when it comes to smart TVs consumers want three things: the best content available, ease of use and flexibility. The Freetime service delivers on all of these aspects and more and when combined with our heritage in picture quality it's a great combination."
Emma Scott, Freesat's Managing Director, commented: "We are delighted that Panasonic has chosen the award-winning Freetime service for its 2014 VIERA TV range and placed it at the heart of free-to-air TV in the UK.
For such an important global brand as Panasonic to choose Freesat's Freetime is proof positive of the clear consumer benefits of our service. This is a fantastic acknowledgement of a great British media technology success story and this deal opens up exciting new territories for us. We have enjoyed a strong working relationship with Panasonic over the past six years - Panasonic was the first manufacturer to launch IDTVs with Freesat built in, so the deal for Freetime is a natural and exciting evolution of our partnership".
The Panasonic deal builds on Freesat's strong start to 2014 following an excellent Q4 13 in which it added 31,000 new homes taking its base to over 1.8m.
* Selected models within the new range
About Panasonic
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and engineering of electronic technologies and solutions for customers in residential, non-residential, mobility and personal applications. Since its founding in 1918, the company has expanded globally and now operates over 500 consolidated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.30 trillion yen (68 billion euros) for the year ended March 31, 2013. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company strives to create a better life and a better world for its customers. For more information about Panasonic, please visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net/.
About Freesat
Freesat is a subscription free hybrid satellite TV service offering digital television to everyone in the UK. It offers more than 200 TV, radio and interactive channels; including free HD services from ITV, the BBC and Channel 4; Freesat+ to record, pause and rewind, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5; all for free. The Freesat App is now available from www.AppStore.com/Freesat.
Freesat is a joint venture between ITV and the BBC. For more information, please visit www.freesat.co.uk, check out our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or read our blog http://whatfreesatthinks.wordpress.com/about/.
