 | |
| Industry | IPTV |
|---|---|
| Founded | 30 April 2024; 17 months ago (2024-04-30) |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Free-to-air television andvideo on demand |
| Owner | Everyone TV |
| Website | freely |
Freely is a Britishfree-to-airIPTV service launched in 2024 byEveryone TV, a joint venture between the country's public broadcastersBBC,ITV,Channel 4 and5.[1] The service offers the ability to watchlive television andon demand media from the main broadcasters while seamlessly switching between them in a unifiedelectronic programme guide (EPG).[2] Freelystreams television over abroadband internet connection and therefore does not require atelevision aerial, although an aerial can be additionally used to create a hybrid platform and allow the viewing ofDTT channels not yet available on Freely. The service is expected to gradually replaceFreeview (althoughSky, which has some free channels in DTT, is not part of Freely).[3]
The Freeviewdigital terrestrial television service was launched in 2002 by the public broadcasters and the older analogue services were switched off by 2012. Since the 2010s, the number of live television viewers has declined in favour of internetstreaming services and this trend is set to continue, especially as the availability of gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure has expanded throughout the country.[4] Due to this shift, audiences for the British public service broadcasters' media have been increasingly eroded by major global streaming services.[5]
Furthermore, the operating costs of traditional terrestrial broadcasts would outstrip usage as more viewers opt to move to broadband-only solutions delivered over IP (the internet). Most Freeview services make use of theDVB-T standard, which dates back to 1997, and only a fewhigh-definition channels broadcast using the more efficient and newerDVB-T2 standard.[6][7] Despite the creation of Freely, the government has stated that it is committed to the Freeview digital terrestrial platform until at least 2034.[8]
The service was first publicised as theNext Generation Platform (NGP) in May 2023.[9] Freely was unveiled in September 2023 and the first products implementing it launched on 30 April 2024, with the advertising campaign headlined "Set yourself Freely".[10]
All the Freely linear channels are directlystreamed via broadband and have their own channel numbers in a familiarguide, as is the case with other traditional TV platforms, instead of being confined to their individualapps (as has been the case with Freeview Play[11] and a phenomenon sometimes called "walled gardens"[1]). A stated advantage has been that it would not require setting up and logging in to user profiles for the different on demand services such asBBC iPlayer orITVX, thus simplifying the process.[12] Live pause and programme restarting are also offered.[13]
At launch, the service only provided channels from the four stated public broadcasters and lacked other channels offered through Freeview.[14] Freely has since expanded the service by adding channels such asU&Dave andQVC UK, although a TV aerial remains a requirement for the fullest possible range of channels.[15] A noted disadvantage has been that Freely has no recording capability as there is currently no Freely-supportingPVR on the market.[16]
Freely has launched integrated on new TV sets fromHisense,Bush,Toshiba,Sharp,Panasonic,Metz andTCL.[17] In a deal withAmazon announced in October 2024, Freely is also to be integrated in new smart TVs based onFire OS as the main TV guide.[18]
It is currently not offered in the form of aset-top box ordongle for existing or older TVs[14], but a streaming device has been announced that will plug into existing TVs.[19] New TVs continue to have terrestrial Freeview receivers so they can be connected to an aerial and receive the remaining channels offered on Freeview.[20]
While the stated intent of Freely is to give priority to the British public service broadcasters,[21] Freely is currently (as of July 2025) only available on brand new TVs with the service integrated,[17] with many of those being smart TVs based onFire OS.[18] This brings concerns of the universality of the service that would be met by a set top box or an app for older sets. Furthermore, TVs running Fire OS have full access to theAmazon Appstore, are capable of having appssideloaded and are essentially televisions with an internalFirestick.
Freely is based onHbbTV Operator Application specifications.[22] It has not been publicly stated by Freely whether the streams originate from in-house servers or directly from each broadcaster's servers.[citation needed]
| Freeview | Freesat | Freeview Play | Freely | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery method | Terrestrial | Satellite | Broadband alongside terrestrial | Broadband |
| Launched | 2002 | 2008 | 2015 | 2024 |
| Live channels | About 60 TV channels (plus BBC and commercial radio channels) | About 100 TV channels (plus BBC and commercial radio channels) | About 60 TV channels (plus BBC and commercial radio channels) (on terrestrial) | Up to 44 TV channels (plus BBC radio channels)[23] |
| Browsing method/interface | EPG | EPG | EPG (for terrestrial channels) or individual apps (for streaming channels) | EPG |
| On demand content | No,but internet-capable Freeview devices may have individual applications for the on demand platforms | No,but internet-capable Freesat devices may have individual applications for the on demand platforms | Yes | Yes |
| User interface type | Specific to TV/STB manufacturer | Standardised | Specific to TV/STB manufacturer | Standardised |
