TV and radio stations can be accessed through Freeview

More than two million households now have access to about 50 TV channels, ranging from news to entertainment.

Freeview was set up as a replacement to the collapsed ITV Digital, which folded largely due to its over-investment in football rights.

The BBC, in conjunction with Crown Castle, launched Freeview to allow viewers access to digital channels without paying subscription fees.

The free-to-air service currently is available to anyone purchasing a set-top-box for about �80, who is in an area that receives digital terrestrial signals.

Latest figures show 2m households in the UK have Freeview, and 1.4m of those are new sales since launch.

Many users access Freeview through ITV Digital boxes, most of which were given out free to customers to entice them to subscribe to the service.

Expectations

Among the channels offered are BBC Three and Four, UK History and shopping service QVC, while Channel 4 and Disney are preparing to launch new channels for the system.

Although Freeview sales have exceeded expectations, it still has a long way to go to draw level with BskyB's satellite and digital services, which boast seven million subscribers.

And it is continuing to grow, with expectations of eight million homes by 2005 with access to BskyB.

A recent survey found Freeview is attracting older customers who previously rejected multi-channel TV offered by the likes of Sky and NTL.