Freeview viewers can expect to see a major reshuffle of channels across the popular TV platform in the coming days. Following the dramatic shutdown of reality telly-centric GREAT! Real just five months after it launched across Freeview and Sky TV, the provider is shaking up its TV Guide listings to close the newly-opened gap, which was found on Channel 61 in most areas of the country.
Children's channel Tiny Pop also makes a return to Freeview. Earlier this year, Tiny Pop announced plans to ditch traditional broadcast methods in favour of streaming — an industry-wide trend.
It's not the only one to dump broadcast for broadband, with Channel 4 outlining radical new plans to shutter five of its Freeview channels and instead consider its streaming service before approving any new commissions. ITV has also shaken up its broadcast business in a race to meet its ambitious target of 2.5 million ITVX Premium subscribers by 2026. Elsewhere, the pivot to internet-powered television across the UK has seen Sky dramatically scale back the number of engineers in the company as 90% of new customers who join opt for a broadband-powered system, like Sky Glass, or one of the best Sky Stream deals.
Tiny Pop had announced plans to shift focus to popular streaming platforms, like Samsung TV Plus, Rakuten, YouTube, LG TV, and Netgem TV ...but it's since returned to traditional broadcast methods, like Freeview TVs
TINY POP PRESS OFFICESuch is the shift towards broadband-powered telly that 30 organisations, including the Digital Poverty Alliance and Rural Services Network, formed a campaign called Broadcast 2040+ to warn about the dangers of abandoning traditional broadcasts.
But Tiny Pop has bucked the trend by returning to Freeview TVs without an active internet connection. Yes, anyone can now watch shows like Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck, Hello Kitty: Super Style! and Masha and the Bear on the child-friendly channel without the need to connect their television to a Wi-Fi connection.
Grab your remote and navigate to Channel 208 on your Freeview TV or set-top box to start watching Tiny Pop. Other changes included in the August update include...
Not all of these channels will be available on every Freeview TV or set-top box, since some of these are only accessible via an internet connection. Freeview Play is the term for a Freeview-compatible device that's connected to Wi-Fi or ethernet to access on-demand services like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and Channel 4, as well as streaming-only channels. New additions to Freeview Play included in the latest update include...
Finally, horror-focused streaming channel NYX, which found on channel 289, has been removed.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Freeview always recommends that users retune their devices to guarantee that all of the changes have been applied.
Some Freeview devices will retune automatically once an update is available, but if you're missing some of the new arrivals listed above, or the channel numbers in your TV Guide don't reflect the latest changes, it's worth following the step-by-step guide to retune Freeview Smart TVs and set-top boxes below.
Your box might check whether you're happy for existing channels to be deleted as part of the retune process – that's normal since the box will need to wipe the existing TV Guide before it can replace it with the new channels and rebranded ones.
Freeview is the most popular free-to-watch provider in the UK, with 16 million homes watching content via its service on Smart TVs and streaming boxes.
