BBC and ITV reveal date for big TV shake-up with new free service to rival Sky
A BRAND NEW way to watch free TV is launching in just a few weeks, supported by the UK's main broadcasters.
And it means fewer wires throughout the house, because there is no need to drill an antenna or dish into the walls.
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The service, known as Freely, relies on the internet and WiFi to deliver live channels and your favorite on-demand content to the TV.
It all works within the television itself, so you don't have to switch between different apps to find live streams like you would now.
So far, Brits have only been able to access such a benefit from paid providers like Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
But the company behind Freeview and Freesat is launching a free version.
Everyone TV – backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – announced the 'groundbreaking' plans last year, but they have now revealed a release date.
And the launch is expected to take place sometime between April and June.
Will be available for free on brand new smart TVs – so far a third of brands have confirmed they will adopt the service, including Hisense, Toshiba, Bush and JVC.
“It's clear that the way people watch TV is changing, with more and more viewers switching to broadband-only connections,” said Sarah Milton and Carl Pfeiffer, joint Chief Product Officers at Everyone TV.
“We built Freely around the needs of the British public, giving them the freedom to choose how they want to watch, with all their favorite shows from the UK's main broadcasters all for free in one place.”
Viewers have welcomed the news, saying it “sounds brilliant”.
“I live in a flat and have never been able to get the aerial to actually work so I've just been using IPlayer, ITVX and 4OD (or whatever it's called) to watch live TV and catch up instead so that Having all Freeview channels in one app, watching live sounds great to me and probably many others,” wrote one user on Reddit.
What channels are there on Freely?
The full channel line-up has yet to be announced, but we can expect channels from the four major broadcasters to be available early.
This should mean that the following stations will be on Freely:
- BBC One
- BBC Two
- BBC Three
- BBC Four
- CBeebies
- BBC news channel
- BBC Parliament
- ITV1
- ITV2
- ITV3
- ITV4
- ITVBe
- Channel 4
- More4
- E 4
- E4 Extra
- 4seven
- Channel 5
- 5VS
- 5 STARS
- 5ACTION
- 5SELECT
The 4Music channel is unlikely to launch on Freely as it will be shut down this year, along with several other music channels.
Freely has revealed it is working with UKTV to also bring their channels on board, including:
Is Freely worth it? Expect many more channels
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter at The Sun
Some corners of the internet believe that a free streaming TV service like Freely has been a long time coming.
Sky paved the way in October 2021 with Sky Glass.
There are some pros and cons to this way of watching TV.
The biggest advantage is that you can have so many more channels than Freeview. Freeview has a limited amount of space, which is why you see some of these strange channels that only air for a few hours a day instead of 24 hours.
Another benefit is that you no longer have to worry about packing your antenna or satellite dish, meaning you don't have to pay for a new kit or someone to install it.
And areas that have long suffered from poor air signals finally have a solution.
However, there are some potential pitfalls: What if the internet goes down? Sky Glass has a backup antenna port if this happens and it looks like Freely wants to offer a similar “hybrid” option.
Internet-based TV services also don't give you the option to record things like you can on digital and satellite – Sky Glass stores programs in the cloud for you, which again presents a problem if the internet goes down.
And while internet speeds are getting faster and more reliable, some rural areas still suffer from poor broadband.