Sky has confirmed that more than half of all its TV customers now have a Sky+HD box connected to a broadband service and that on-demand viewing when in a connected home accounts for 5 per cent of all programmes watched.

In a huge shift from its first years as a satellite subscription service, the broadcaster has said that more and more people are accessing content on demand rather than relying on a programmer at Sky to schedule shows for them.

"In less than a year, the total number of connected Sky+HD boxes has more than doubled to 5.4 million, equivalent to 56,000 new households getting connected every week. This explosive growth means that more than 50 per cent of Sky's 10.6m TV customers are now connected, stretching Sky's lead as Britain's most popular connected TV platform," said Sky in a statement.

According to Sky, those "connected customers" are using the service as well, with On Demand downloads up more than three-fold in the last year.

"In the most recent quarter, On Demand viewing accounted for more than 5 per cent of viewing in connected homes - equivalent to the third most popular linear channel in those homes."

The news will be welcomed by Sky who continue to battle against competing services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Netflix, which is completely on demand is continuing to push forward with new offerings including its 4K service in the UK for users of new 4K televisions like the Sony 4K X9 recently reviewed by Pocket-lint.

The news also comes as Sky confirms that its Now TV service would be getting ITV Player from today.