Freely’s New Live UK Broadband TV Service to Launch Q2 2024
The new Freely platform, which is designed to be a broadband internet (streaming) based evolution that goes beyond the UK’s existing Freeview (inc. Freeview Play and Freesat) TV service, has today given a first look at some of its features and confirmed that it will officially launch in Q2 2024.
Freeview Play is a good but rather dated platform that remains centred around on-demand content, while Freely viewers will be able to easily browse and watch live UK TV channels together with on-demand content streamed straight to their smart TV via the internet (IPTV). Freely will not replace the Freeview and Freesat platforms and should, at least for now, be seen as more of a complement – a different kind of service.
The new platform is seen as a necessary evolution, not least because the age of broadcasting TV via the airwaves is expected to gradually come to an end as gigabit-capable broadband nears almost universal UK coverage by 2030 (the current coverage is just over 80%). In fact, Everyone TV claims some 15% (around 4 million) of UK TV homes are already considered to be IP-only (broadband-only), fuelled in part by commercial streaming services (Netflix, Sky Glass etc.), and it’s estimated that this will reach more than half of UK homes by 2030.
Advertisement
Freely was officially announced last September 2023 (here), but at the time there was preciously little information available on its features, technical specifications or launch date. The good news is that today’s announcement reveals that the platform will launch sometime during Q2 2024, and we also get our first look at some of its features, at least in terms of the User Interface (UI). But it’s still mostly the predictable stuff.
Key Freely features revealed today include:
➤ MiniGuide – A new feature for the free TV experience, this pop-up interface appears each time users switch channels, creating a seamless browsing experience and enabling viewers to easily discover related live or on demand content. Audiences can also take advantage of features such as restart, pause and access to more episodes from live TV.
➤ Browse – Viewers will be able to press the Freely button on their remote to explore recommended live and on demand programming from Britain’s leading broadcasters and free-to air channels, all in one place.
➤ TV Guide – Bringing simplicity and familiarity, this 7-day guide provides relevant information and is easily recognisable thanks to its consistency across all Freely TVs and one-touch access via the ‘Guide’ button on the remote. Audiences can also discover more episodes and on demand content linked to the live TV shows they are enjoying, all via the TV Guide.
Further details around Freely will be announced in the “coming weeks“, including additional smart TV, operating system and content partners. But homes connected via IP only and those using a hybrid IP and DTT (digital terrestrial TV) connection may initially “experience varying channel offerings” as Freely continues to develop.
Sarah Milton and Carl Pfeiffer, Joint Chief Product Officers at 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.”
At this stage there still isn’t anything useful in the way of technical detail available about the platform, such as in terms of what video and audio codecs / standards it will use, whether channels will all now be broadcast in HD, 4K (UltraHD) or HDR and what sort of connection speeds end-users will require. But it should be said that full HD video streams can already work at broadband speeds of between 3-6Mbps and over 99% of the country can already access that (this will fall further as video codecs improve).
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
Latest UK ISP News
- FTTP (6034)
- BT (3642)
- Politics (2722)
- Business (2442)
- Openreach (2407)
- Building Digital UK (2331)
- Mobile Broadband (2150)
- FTTC (2084)
- Statistics (1905)
- 4G (1822)
- Virgin Media (1768)
- Ofcom Regulation (1585)
- Fibre Optic (1470)
- Wireless Internet (1463)
- 5G (1411)
So if you have no internet connection or it’s DSL, you’re basically F’d if they turn off the DVB-T2 broadcast
Really, it will be down to the government as to how they handle withdrawal of DTT, which will need to be mindful of the fact that some pockets of slow broadband and even notspots will still exist post-2030. So at present it’s too early to know how they’ll approach that, but recent debates have indicated that they’re at least mindful of this issue.
However, it’s worth adding that even many DSL (ADSL) lines can still deliver fast enough speeds for HD video streaming, except in some very poorly served parts. But it’s definitely not ideal if DSL is your only option, as we all have greater demands than TV viewing to consider.
I would imagine Freeview would close but in the medium term Freesat kept going for those without an adequate Broadband speed
“But it’s definitely not ideal if DSL is your only option”
True but it’s 2024. People are only limited by how tight they want to be. After all if you live out in the sticks and need fast internet. £75 a month for Starlink (or 4G/5G is available) is not a lot to pay for it. But people won’t and that’s on them.
It’s all about balance. There are other ways to look at it too.
There are some people who can’t get superfast broadband. However, 97% of the population can get superfast broadband and only 70% can get the full freeview service currently.
So reframe that as if freeview goes IP, 97% of the population can get access to the full freview service vs 70% currently.
Freesat is a nice filler to solve the issue of people who can’t get superfast broadband. It won’t please everyone but we are talking 0.8% of people who can’t get a “free” TV service. Those should be on the waiting list of USO too at this point. So Ideally by 2030ish when DVB looks to start winding down, people shouldn’t loose out.
@Mark
One thing to note is that multiple users can quickly affect things.
I know someone who lived on military housing and was restricted to 10mbps via DSL, not a problem until he had a kid who watches Netflix and plays games online.
@I love Starlink
Considering people complain about paying £159py on the TV license, £900py would probably give a few people a heart attack.
The value of something is highly subjective.
Note that DVB-T and DVB-T2 don’t deliver that high a bitrate to the home. We currently have 5 DVB-T muxes using MPEG-2 (H.262) video, 3 of which run at 24 Mbit/s and the other 2 at 27 Mbit/s. We also have a single DVB-T2 mux using H.264, running at 40 Mbit/s.
We run the H.262 services in the 27 Mbit/s muxes at around 1.5 Mbit/s average. In the 24 Mbit/s muxes, we run at about 2.5 Mbit/s average, also H.262. In the 40 Mbit/s mux, we use H.264 instead of H.262, and we run the HD channels at roughly 5 Mbit/s average, with the SD channels running at around 1 Mbit/s average.
This is within reach of a decent ADSL connection, let alone ADSL2+; it’s also something that 4G onwards can carry quite comfortably. And because it’s relatively insensitive to latency, it’s also something that’d work fine on satellite internet.
Yes, losing 5 Mbit/s for BBC ONE HD of a 7 Mbit/s ADSL2+ link is not going to be pleasant; but it’s doable, and as ADSL is replaced (and it will be – the cost of running ADSL and ADSL2+ is relatively high, as is the cost of maintaining a metallic path for fewer and fewer people), this problem goes away.
In contrast, the broadcast transmissions are expensive to provide, and stay the same price no matter how many viewers they have; there comes a point at which the “cheap” option for ITV, BBC et al is to close down DVB-T and DVB-T2 services, relying on a mix of streaming and DVB-S/S2 for the future.
@Mark Jackson and what about those that don’t have broadband? A basic broadband would need to be offered for free to watch it and only be used for Freely.
It will be years anyway, so far they only have Hisense signed up and if they want people to use it they will also need to have freely available on other devices, but from what I have seen that is not going to happen.
Also, if that is the only way to get normal TV, then that will be the end of the BBC tax.
It makes no odds to me, I don’t watch normal TV, and I don’t pay the BBC tax.
I really hope that this new Freely platform supports other devices – such as Apple TV, Google TV, Fire TV etc. It will make it a game changer potentially.
They’d shoot themselves in the foot if they didn’t support appleTV, fireTV and the like.
I’m have no doubt for it to be there
Add to the list of hopefully supported devices; iOS, Android as well as Windows and Mac OS would be nice to have…
I have a feeling they’ll limit it to UK TVs only.
No app. At least not for a while. TV’s first, STBs second. That’s their focus.
I would also think Geo-IP with location services looking down to UK addresses (similar to Sky Stream), but no actual published statement on that.
They wouldn’t want an app to be accessed over VPN for example, because of rights issues and a new platform gives ability to address security shortcomings of previous given that there are noe established ways to do this unlike in the past.
That’s my thinking exactly. If it’s limited to Smart TVs and STBs then it really limits how much can easily be done with VPNs. Sure, there’s going to be options for people to put VPNs on routers and bypass the restrictions but it’s not really going to be as widespread as if people were using streaming devices which essentially have these available at a few clicks.
I would be very disappointed, but I feel app delivery will not come to these devices.
I’d like simple things like being able to renumber the channels in the order WE want, not some random mess of numbering that you can’t change.
Judging by the internet speeds indicated this would assume HD services around 5mbps. They have a chance to get the SD only channels into either a better bit rate, or offer as HD service instead. VM Stream and Sky Stream did this with a number of channels.
As no technical data has been published I cannot see how you can you will not be able to Record
I would assume some kind of Freely box will be made available as initially few if any TV’s will have built in Freely. Without such a box few if any would be able to watch it
HiSense and Vestel (who make TVs for many brands) are initial partners.
@bob
It will go down the same route as Sky Stream. You don’t record per say, the entry in the recordings is just a link to play the show from on demand.
Why? Because its what the broadcasters want. ITV want you to watch ads or pay for ITVX, not record and skip the ads. Same for 4 and 5. The broadcasters hold all the cards here, without them the service won’t take off as there will be no content.
I stick with Zgemma Freesat Recorder. I prefer everything from the satellite with twin recording. Freely are useless with no option of recording etc, I do hate streaming over the internet as it will never show real live sports, only the satellite will do this.
Until DSAT switched off and then Freeview. This is the goal of Freely. Sky already ramping up on Sky Stream. You’ve got some years but they will go quickly….
Sky has been transmitting live sport on Now TV for years.
NOW TV is a separate brand and aimed at low end. Its not a replacement for DSAT unlike Sky Stream which is. It was Sky’s project that formed basis of Sky Stream.
They have not updated their Web site which currently is just a holding page
You would think they would at least provided some info on what kit you need v to receive it
I would assume they are developing a Freely box but if they are there is zero information
Like Freeview Play, the goal seems to be to get Freely integrated into new TVs and other set-to-boxes natively, but yes.. there’s still a few aspects that aren’t super clear.
How many people though would but a new TV just to watch it? Very few I suspect. They might buy a new box though. If they want to get viewing numbers up fast a Freely box seems to be the way to go
Few if any TV’s have integrated Freely available in any case and Q2 is not far off
It would help if they make it available as add on an app for existing platforms like Amazon Firestick, Android & IOS tablets and phones and existing smart TVs. I think we’ve had enough of buying new hardware.
Nobody is being forced into new kit overnight. Bigger picture over many years as people replace kit, hence TV’s initially will be IP Only, IP+Freesat, IP+Freeview – hybrid models even.
TV’s initially, with the focus on HiSense and Vestel (rebadged TVs for other manufacturers) this year, then other TV manufacturers coming on board then STB may follow that.
The point is that Freely provides you the same channels as Freeview or Freesat, just over IP instead of requiring a terrestrial TV or satellite TV antenna.
If you assume that people replace their TVs every 10 years, on average, then you need all TVs sold in 2025 to be ready for a world without Freeview if you’re to switch off Freeview in 2035 or later. Push the lifespan of a TV to 15 years, and now people care about their 2025 TV in 2040.
And that’s an issue, given that we’re already seeing the usual suspects asking if Freeview is sensible once its current spectrum licences come to an end in 2034 – should we renew those licences, or should we auction the spectrum for data over mobile networks? The worst case scenario from the point of view of Everyone TV is losing Freeview in 2034 while only having Freesat as a replacement (meaning satellite dishes for all remaining Freeview viewers, or losing them completely); having Freely as well as Freeview and Freesat means that if Freeview loses the argument and has its spectrum taken away, people can just switch to Freely over IP instead of needing a satellite dish installed.
As a side-effect, you could well argue in this scenario that the purchasers of the current Freeview spectrum should be obliged to fund a USO rollout of free data service for former Freeview viewers, locked down to only providing Freely. That allows you to have a more interesting set of arguments for retaining Freeview spectrum; especially if one of the networks has a near-100% high speed data coverage by then (be that a 5G NR network, or an FTTP provider), because you’re asking the future buyer of the newly freed up Freeview spectrum to pay for people to have IPTV in the home.
I suspect Freeview will go first and Freesat kept a while look to fill in the Broadband coverage gaps. There is no way they will keep Terrestrial and Freeview going in the longer term
Without a Freely box though take up will be very slow
All these channels are on life support, it will only delay the inevitable
No they are not. That arguments has been going on for decades. Some of the channels, yes, but big names no.
The streaming providers are doing their best to fragment content across so many different apps each with their own subscription costs that this could be a good opportunity for the main UK channels to get something back.
I’ve not looked at Freely too closely but if it’s a fairly loose specification that enables more powerful devices to do 4k60 streams at high bitrates and low latency with rich interactive content while allowing less powerful hardware to fall back to a lesser experience (as in, it’s not a rigid spec that changes once a decade like DVB) then it could be quite a good platform.
There’s a record amount of people not paying their BBC tax. Unsurprising with all the lies and alienating th people
In a world where you can get much better information and entertainment elsewhere, it is a political slam dunk to allow people to choose rather than forcing them to pay for something that hates them
Example just a few days ago, acid attack in London by an illegal immigrant enabled by the system and the BBC interviews a woke Tory MP talking about the dangers of micro aggression
Not long before the license fee hating brigade turn up to hijack a thread for their own agenda. Any story to be exploited to achieve it. This story is about Freely and its platform. Typical propaganda, most people ARE paying the license fee whether you like it or not and that is based on facts not an agenda.
Now, the immigrant was legal as was granted asylum (like it or not). A debate elsewhere on whether that should have happened is valid, but your comment was not the whole picture as he was actually granted asylum after his claim of having converted to Christianity, but equally some Tory MPs also used the term illegal (check the Tory supporting Daily Mail as they reported on that!).
In a multimedia multi channel etc age why should we be forced to pay the BBC if we do not watch it?
Exactly, no one should be forced to pay for it. In a fair market, people would be able to opt if they prefer the BBC over Netflix. Without scrutiny from the market, the BBC is allowed to do these social engineering stunts like completely trashing Dr Who or calling the royal family racist or giving millions of pounds to Lineker who calls half the country as nazis
The point made was not about the legality of an illegal exploiting a dumb loophole created to enable mass migration, but meant as an example as to how the BBC does not care about informing people at all. In fact they are the propaganda arm for the state, to the point where ofcom does not even touch them, even when they spouse use the exact same terminology used to get a GB news presenter fired
The BBC tax is being used to fund this platform in order to extend this freely platform, so it is completely relevant
Many things we pay for – I pay for other people kids education and an NHS I never used amongst many other things.
Your question is for government who decides this thing.
One thing is clear though, should the situation change, Freely is the most likely system to be able to deal with paywall situations (maybe just not from the start of it) so those who say they “never” watch any content may be tested on that at some point…just saying…
Here goes Gary again. OK, Lineker was employed BEFORE he went off and started spouting opinions and then the organisation had to deal with it by conducting a full review of social media policy to make clear and not ambiguous in places.
Many of the “social engineering stunts” as you call it, are actually directives from government and all broadcasters including ITV and Channel 4 and Channel 5 are doing it around diversity and inclusion and OfCom ensures quotas, metrics, stats etc.
All organisations are not perfect, and need correcting if wrong, but I couldn’t imagine self-scrutiny from likes of some news channel outlets, particularly those with owners who have vested interests and self agenda at heart! I’ve seen some click bait (designed to earn revenue by alarmist or misleading headlines) and bended analysis to suit specific agendas. You can’t tell me that the Daily Fail doesn’t jump on the slightest of technical hitch or story to promote another agenda based promotion to defund an entity. I wonder if they could do an FOI style report on number of stories in a year just on one broadcaster by them. 363 days out of 365???
Leave it to the internet to equate and compare healthcare to entertainment. Entertainment is not essential and again, creates an uneven playing field in which the BBC is privileged and does not operate by the same rules, even when it sells poison.
If you hate the Daily Mail, it’s fine, it’s your own issue, but you are not paying for it. The DM survives on its own without the state forcing people to pay for it. This is the key distinction
Allow the BBC to do like Disney and convert all of its IPs for “modern audiences”, but leave my money out of it and let the market decide whether it is sustainable
Because the market system is great isn’t it. The knowledge of price and value of nothing. Many public service things could not be funded by being market orientated and the government shirked free licenses, world service, monitoring, analogue switch off amongst other things and then appoints its own Conservative director General and chairman.
And the daily fail is constantly pushing their drivel on my Web browser news feeds along with express and guardian and Tory graph.
I bet you are one of those people championing Britishness yet you want media here to be extinguished. If BBC just went advertising only then ITV, CH4 and CH5 would collapse as not enough revenue and indie companies producing content would fail as no need due to cheap imports.
The streamers already ramping up costs and soon minimum contracts terms will be here.
Yea the market system, referred to capitalism, is the single best system ever created in human history which has lifted the most amount of people out of poverty and has created more human wealth than any other. Socialism on the other hand is responsible for the most death, war and starvation no matter where it was tried even china, Russia and Germany. If there’s a need, there is a market opportunity which gets destroyed if the government steps in with mandatory theft or monopolistic regulations
You seem to have a problem grasping the concept of freedom of choice. You are free to not pay the daily mail, you are not free to not pay the BBC
Let the market decide which entertainment company is worthy. If you are worried about ads, ad companies now have tons of places to advertise (like this website), and tons of platforms with much higher viewership such as YouTube and X
So services from the highest bidder are OK then with race to the bottom?
I can’t remember nationalised water companies being responsible for flooding our rivers and seas with untreated sewerage through lack of investment despite huge profits though, or private companies getting tax payer handouts or government manipulation in their favour. Oh and we pay massive energy prices because the market system has failed for consumer and to benefit of shareholders as sold to highest overseas bidder.
The market system on its own does not work and needs proper correct intervention and controls/auditing else company eats company and you end up with cartels and dictating of government policy. This is why so much is broken in this country because that has not happened to keep market healthy.
I don’t have to pay for certain newspaper yet they still pollute my news feeds with their made up headlines and agendas for their private owners…..
My biggest concern about the switch to IPTV is if this means the loss of local DVRs, these do come in handy and have advantages over pure streaming.
It’s amazing to think that 25 years ago the Internet was seen as a threat to the media companies traditional distribution model (Napster launched in 1999). Now they can total control of what we can consume.
The Broadcasters will say you have catch up services for that instead of recording yourself. The rights holders of the content won’t care as they don’t want you to record (hence encrypted recordings on most DVRs (including some TVs that can record to USB device) that are branded from Freeview, Freesat and Sky). Non branded ones are a loop hole and one that broadcasters and rights owners would love to close via DRM. Microsoft encountered this resistance (mainly with American broadcasters and rights holders) with ‘Windows Media Center’ and its DVR capability with free to air (cablecard was different with subscription channels as Playready DRM was used).
Streaming Freely will have big problem for many hard of hearing (deaf person) as satellite work best with teletext subtitles. I try ITVX and My5 and All4 the subtitles was awful sometimes they do have it other days they don’t have it! BBCi players are the best for subtitled.
AI subtitles will be a thing very soon, just needs implementing. Can recognise different voices and colour code the text appropriately. Being a stream they can easily be synchronised with the speech unlike the delayed ‘live’ subtitles on current TV.
The technology is easy, cheap and available enough now to build into the boxes if the broadcasters don’t want to provide.
Hopefully picture quality can be improved with the new Freely platform with more HD and UHD content and better quality SD content.
I won’t buy a Freely box as I have recently bought a Freesat 4k recording box and a new Sony tv.
Cool stick a paywall on it and stop harassing people watching netflix at teatime for a TV License then OK.
Hopefully it will include the smaller channels as well as the big channels. The only thing worth watching TV for these days is being able to just flick through those smaller channels, sometimes finding something a bit different and interesting. All the big channels are mostly crap and have their own streaming platforms anyway (though having it all together would make it easier to swap between them rather than having to use multiple apps.)
The TV licence is an historical anachronism, It came about from the early days of TV. They needed a way to pay for the programmes so they come up with the TV licence. Then it made sense. If you had a TV you watched the BBC. There was nothing else.
When commercial TV arrived in the UK they changed tack and said the BBC was a Public Service Broadcaster that was producing programmes that were not commercially viable and to quite an extent in the distant past that was true but today most of the BBC’s output is commercial or repeats
If a TV licence is to remain the BBC should be cut back to one UK wide channel. It can have regional opt outs for local news etc, It should be just PSB content a bit like PSB US
If any of the individual UK nations want there own channell they can but they should fund it
It wasn’t when commercial Tv arrived they then called it public service. Reith’s period from 1927 was the changing from commercial to corporation. ITV was the first commercial channel in 1955.
Thank the Tory Culture Department for offloading costs of free licenses, World Service, Monitoring and many other things along with freezing of license during inflationary years, a raft of Ofcom measures, despite sell off of various assets and internal transformation to cut costs. The one issue left I complain about is talent salaries; they are far too high in my view, but, they are only paying (below) market rate than other broadcasters would pay.
PSB channels in most other countries are channels that have programmes of low value and no dramas, comedies or sci-fi etc. They are normally just topical or reality shows.
There’s services akin to this already on most smart TVs via Freeview and other streams. My 5 year old LG can show live IP feeds from dozens of Korean channels – most in far, far better quality than the dirge that passes for Freeview.
18 months from now people will wonder what all the fuss was about.
SBS, KBS and MBC have great shows. Far better than anything the UK channels have to offer
Korean shows are definitely the most underrated form of entertainment from the last decade
If you haven’t watched I definitely recommend Alchemy of Souls, it’s also on Netflix
I am surprised this announcement has not raised any questions about the privacy policy of Freely. What user data will it collect, who will own that data and how will it be used and/or sold?
We all know the streamers collect bucket loads of data about the viewing habits of their users, Freely has the potential to collect this type of information about a very large segment of the whole population.
Broadcast TV is one way, any internet connection works in both directions so is no one else worried about the privacy implications?
Its anonymised data most likely, but, yes the broadcasters want to know what people watch to get accurate statistics for different genres. They’ll better understand demographics. I would think you will have to sign-in, but no official word yet.
Remember even Terrestrial does not have a 100% coverage. By the time he Terrestrial transmitters are being shut down FTTC and FTTH will be at about the same level of coverage as Terrestrial and Free sat will cover most of the gaps
I feel very sorry that Freeview and Freesat are going. It won’t be many year before the BBC and ITV gone too. Peoples media habits are always changing and there is so many organizations pushing out content, TV as the king of media will rapidly decline like radio did. People switch to games and news and downloaded films on the go. Freely TVs will be another loss maker for Vestel. Satellite TV is currently the only way I can get TV in my bedrooms luckily I don’t use Freesat so get loads of channels.
Has anyone any idea if Freely will be available in Europe or only if we subscribe to a VPN. We have Freesat presently, although I have to say the content isn’t great, all reality, soaps and quiz shows. I would happily pay the British TV Licence to access UK TV, but that option isn’t available.
I’m looking to get box that is wireless and you can stream and record as I would liento replace sky basically I’m looking to get the same as sky without the price tag. Any recommendations