Around 1.6 million UK homes are now tuning into free satellite TV channels - 900,000 more than in 2009.
Ofcom's latest research into our digital TV viewing habits saw a 56 per cent rise in Free-to-air satellite TV, which now used in 6.3 per cent of British homes.
About 1.25 million TVs and receivers have now been sold for the official Freesat service, with 80 per cent Freesat HD-capable.
But a further 3.5 million are using Freesat from Sky, old Sky receivers without a subscription, or non-branded free-to-air satellite receiver.
Ofcom's quarterly Digital TV Update does not measure homes which have satellite TV receivers for overseas TV channels.
Neither Astra nor Eutelsat also measure this data, making it impossible to estimate the British market for free-to-air or pay-TV channels from outside the UK.