If you're thinking about making the leap to the new Freely TV platform — you've got a few more options.
Freely made its debut on April 30, bringing the ability to stream live channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 from your Smart TV without any additional kit. You can pause live television, restart programmes with the touch of a button, and dive into on-demand boxsets from a handful of streaming services.
Developed by Everyone TV — the organisation behind Freeview and Freesat backed by the UK's biggest broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 — the new platform is not a software upgrade for existing Smart TVs running Freeview and Freeview Play. Rather you'll need to upgrade to a new television.
Provided that you have a valid TV Licence, Freely is completely free-to-watch. Of course, you'll need a decent broadband connection to stream everything in the TV Guide over an internet connection, although it means you'll be able to place your television anywhere in your home — not just where the aerial is located.
Several manufacturers, including Hisense and Vestel, have already confirmed plans to use Freely as the operating system on their new range of Smart TVs. More brands will support Freely in the coming months with further announcements on the way, Everyone TV says.
We've already seen Hisense TVs appearing on Amazon, Argos, and AO.com store shelves. In recent days, Argos has quietly refreshed its website with a new range of affordable Bush TVs that support Freely.
Exclusive to Argos, Bush TVs are manufactured by Turkish electronics giant Vestel — marking its long-promised entry into the market of Freely TVs. The new range starts from £229.99 for a 43-inch Smart TV with Ultra HD resolution, rising to £299.99 for the same model with a 55-inch screen, and maxing out at £379.99 for 65-inches.
For a limited time, Argos will supercharge the number of Nectar points you'll collect with the purchase, offering 10x the standard amount when you treat yourself to a new Bush TV with Freely.
Everyone TV says the arrival of Freely marks the first time all four of Britain’s public service broadcasters have come together to launch a streaming proposition and signals the beginning of "a journey to secure the future of free TV through collaboration."
As mentioned above, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have all worked to ensure their catch-up services are deeply integrated into Freely so when you miss the start of a live broadcast you'll be able to skip back to the beginning — with the show streamed behind-the-scenes from BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and others.
Entire boxsets will be presented in the menu, so you can catch-up on earlier series of a show before tuning into the next live episode. The arrival of Freely doesn't mean Freeview is going anywhere for now, with Smart TV manufacturers turning to the new arrival to offer access to linear television... we'll likely to see Freeview and Freesat fall out of favour in the coming months and years. The industry-wide pivot is something campaigners have warned about, cautioning that millions could be left without access to live television channels.
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Discussing the long-awaited arrival of Freely earlier this year, BBC Director of Distribution and Business Development, Kieran Clifton said: "The launch of Freely is a historic moment for UK television.
"Collaboration between the UK PSBs is critical to connecting and protecting all audiences as we transition towards the streaming era — and delivering live TV over broadband for free is a ground-breaking innovation that will futureproof public service broadcasting."
Alongside its participation in Freely, the BBC has outlined plans to scale-up its BBC iPlayer service in the next year ahead of the next licence fee review by the next UK Government.
An early glimpse at the menu for Freely was revealed earlier this year. We've rounded up some of the standout features of the all-new way to watch BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 live below. Meanwhile, Everyone TV has teased that additional details around Freely will be announced in the coming weeks, including additional smart TV, operating system, and content partners.
MiniGuide
This will be instantly familiar to anyone who has watched telly on Sky or Virgin Media before, but it’s the first time we’ve seen anything like this on a free TV experience.
When switching between live channels, a small pop-up will appear in the bottom of the screen with details about the show you’re currently watching, what’s scheduled to air next, and a button to restart your current programme from the beginning.
If there are multiple episodes from the same show available on-demand from a catch-up service like iPlayer, ITVX or My5, the “Info & Episodes” button in the MiniGuide will let you start scrolling through the back catalogue and jump into another episode.
Browse
Pressing the Freely button on your remote will send you to the Browse menu. This is a central hub that brings together recommended live and on-demand shows from Britain's biggest broadcasters and free-to-air channels, all in one place.
As you watch more shows — live and on-demand — on your Freely device, the recommendations in the Browse menu will start to improve as it begins to learn your tastes.
TV Guide
This is the part of the Freely interface that will be immediately recognisable to Freeview users. The 7-day guide is designed to provide relevant information at a glance.
Everyone TV says the design of the TV Guide will be consistent across all Freely TVs, so don’t expect telly manufacturers to be able to customise the look at all. Freely TVs will also be required to provide one-touch access via a dedicated Guide button on the remote.
From the TV Guide, you’ll be able to see whether the ability to restart the show from the beginning is available — helping you to decide whether you should jump into a programme now, wait to catch it on a +1 channel, or watch via an on-demand streaming service later.
You’ll also be able to jump into a library of on-demand episodes of shows from the TV Guide.
Sarah Milton and Carl Pfeiffer, Joint Chief Product Officers, Everyone TV said: “It’s clear the way people are watching TV is changing, with more audiences switching over to a broadband only connection. We’ve built Freely around the needs of British audiences, bringing them the freedom to choose how they want to watch, with all their favourite shows from the UK’s leading broadcasters all in one place for free.
“We’re really proud of what we’re launching with Freely and are excited about bringing major enhancements like the MiniGuide to viewers as Freely launches in Q2 this year.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Everyone TV confirmed that discussions are underway with UKTV to bring its portfolio of free channels to Freely over your broadband connection. UKTV is the award-winning brand that owns and operates channels like Dave, Drama, Yesterday, and W.
All of these are currently available via Freeview and Freesat, so we’d expect them to be included in the TV Guide and on-demand options in the coming months. UKTV recently announced a sprawling rebrand of all its channels as part of its shift to U and confirmed an extra 1,500 hours of shows would be added.
