The team behind Freeview will launch an all-new streaming service nationwide this year, which is set to abolish the need for an aerial to watch the most popular free-to-air channel nationwide. Dubbed Freely, the new system beams everything over broadband, like Sky Stream or the rebooted EE TV.
Everyone TV, the organisation behind Freeview and Freely, has revealed a first look and new details about the software. It also confirmed that Freely will launch in the UK in the second quarter of this year, which means we should see the first Freely-powered TVs sometime between April and June 2024.
Alongside Hisense-branded TVs, the team confirmed a new partnership with Vestel to bring Freely to its latest Smart TVs. Unfortunately, Freely will not be available as a software update to existing Freeview-powered devices, so you’ll need to upgrade to a new telly or set-top box to get in on the action.
Freely will let viewers switch between live and on-demand television from broadcasters including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. Since everything is being streamed to your Smart TV or set-top box, you’ll be able to pause and rewind live television channels — just like Sky.
Freely offers one-click access to on-demand episodes of the show you're currently watching from the new MiniGuide. You'll also be able to restart the programme too, with everything streamed behind-the-scenes from the relevant catch-up service, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and My5
EVERYONE TV
With no aerial needed, you can place a Freely-powered device anywhere in your home, as long as it's connected to power and has a decent Wi-Fi connection.
Freely shared details around three new features that will be available at launch on its telly software.
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 in a new menu found on Freely devices that brings together live channels and on-demand shows based on your tastes. It has a dedicated button on your TV remote
EVERYONE TV
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 providerelevant 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.
Freely's TV Guide is pretty similar to the one found on existing Freeview TVs. Everyone TV says the design of the TV Guide will be consistent across all Freely-powered devices, with no customisation possible from TV manufacturers
EVERYONE TV
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.”
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Live broadcasts are still a core part of Freely, even within the Browse menu you'll be able to jump into what's airing on BBC One, ITV1 and other terrestrial channels with a single click on the remote
EVERYONE TV
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 when the first Freely TVs start to appear on store shelves.
As the release date approaches, Everyone TV has promised more details around Freely to be announced soon, including "additional smart TV, operating system and content partners”.
