{"id":42750,"date":"2025-08-11T08:05:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=42750"},"modified":"2025-08-11T08:18:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:18:44","slug":"bbc-looks-set-to-build-its-own-radically-simplified-freely-tv-streaming-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/08\/bbc-looks-set-to-build-its-own-radically-simplified-freely-tv-streaming-box.html","title":{"rendered":"BBC Looks Set to Build its Own “radically simplified” Freely TV Streaming Box"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC<\/a>’s Controller of Digital Transition, Helen Burrows, has confirmed that the corporation is “exploring the idea<\/em>” of building its own UK set-top-box device to support the new broadband-based live TV streaming service, Freely<\/a>, which until recently lacked any support among existing steaming boxes and sticks.<\/p>\n

Freely, which first launched in April 2024 (here<\/a>), is not currently<\/em> being pushed as a replacement for the ageing terrestrial Freeview<\/strong> (inc. Freeview Play) and satellite<\/a>-based Freesat TV<\/strong> platforms and should, at least for now, be seen as more of a complement \u2013 a different kind of service that helps to make broadcast TV more accessible. The change is important because the age of traditional terrestrial TV signals, which came via the airwaves, is expected to gradually come to an end as gigabit broadband nears almost universal UK coverage by 2032 (currently c.88%).<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Freely is being developed by Everyone TV<\/a> (formerly Digital UK), which runs free TV in the UK and is jointly owned by the BBC<\/a>, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.<\/div>\n

However, much as we’ve said before, one of the biggest roadblocks to adoption of Freely\u2019s platform today remains its limited availability, which has seen the new service deployed across a variety of new<\/em> TV sets but not much else (some major TV manufacturers are also still missing from their supported device list). But customers of most existing internet-connected TVs, as well as popular TV streaming boxes and sticks, have all been excluded.<\/p>\n

The good news is that the above situation did recently start to change after French company Netgem revealed (here<\/a>) that they were due to release a new IPTV<\/a> box, both at retail and for their existing ISP partners, during Q4 2025<\/strong> (such boxes are typically bundled by broadband ISPs like Brsk<\/a>, TalkTalk<\/a>, CommunityFibre<\/a>, Wightfibre<\/a> and others). A new box is needed because it apparently required a “significant software upgrade that needs the very latest chipsets to run,<\/em>” which would seem to be debatable, but we don’t know the specifics.<\/p>\n

The latest development on this front came after the BBC published a new policy document (Socioeconomic Impact of Digital Transition<\/a>), which among other things seemed to get more specific about the BBC developing a “new streaming media device<\/em>” for Freely and would be “designed with accessibility in mind and a radically simple user interface specifically designed to help those currently underserved by digital services<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Helen Burrows, BBC Controller of Digital Transition, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The BBC believes that TV has a role to play in any transition to a fully digital society. A managed switchover to IPTV<\/a>, with an intervention to help digitally excluded groups get connected and build digital skills, could be a catalyst to help realise these wider social and economic benefits.<\/p>\n

The transition to digital in the TV sector is already happening:<\/p>\n