 Some of the channels did broadcast either in the clear or soft encrypted (whereby a Videocrypt decoder was required to decode, but without a subscription card) prior to their addition to the Sky Multichannels package.Within two months of the launch, Sky gained 400,000 new subscribers, with the majority taking at least one premium channel, which helped BSkyB reach 3.5 million households by mid-1994.Some channels were not launched on 1 September 1993, but were added later; including QVC which launched on 1 October 1993, and VH1 which launched on 1 October 1994.