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Freely comes to smart TVs from Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic and Metz. The latest series of partnerships signed by Everyone TV – the organisation behind Freeview and Freesat, which is supported by the UK’s biggest broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – brings the number of TV brands keen to support Freely to a total of six. Freely started in the UK in April with a handful of Hisense TVs.
The biggest absentee remains Samsung, the biggest TV brand globally for 18 years in a row. Everyone TV has hinted that we can expect “the launch of new smart TV brands in the coming months,” but there is no guarantee that Samsung will opt for this new platform.
Anyone who currently buys a new Smart TV from Hisense, Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic or Metz can use Freely to stream live TV, catch-up programs and on-demand box sets. The successor to Freeview makes the traditional TV antenna obsolete.
Freely is not a software update for existing Freeview hardware. Instead, it has been built from the ground up for streaming, with a new user interface and modern features such as the ability to pause and restart live broadcasts from free-to-air channels such as BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
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Instead, the most popular free-to-air channels are streamed over a wireless or wired Internet connection. This is similar to solutions such as Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin Media Streamand that newly launched EE TV launched last yearIf you have a broadband connection, you can place your TV anywhere in your house where there is a good Wi-Fi signal – not where the antenna goes into the wall.
However, this industry-wide trend has prompted some experts to raise the alarm that those without a decent internet connection may no longer be able to watch live television by 2040.
Freely is not available as a software update for existing Freeview or Freesat viewers. Because it requires new hardware, you will not be able to its new features – for example, the ability to access all on-demand episodes from a show’s listing in the TV Guide and to restart a show from the beginning with just a tap – when you upgrade to a new TV.
Toshiba’s new Freely-compatible TVs offer QLED 4K picture quality paired with Dolby Atmos-certified sound, while Sharp will incorporate Freely into its new range of 4K and 4K QLED smart TVs. Panasonic will adopt Freely for its 2024 range of 4K OLED, QLED and LED TVs.
Metz, one of Germany’s oldest television brands, is launching new Free-compatible QLED+ TVs that support Dolby Vision and Atmos. These high-end flat screens will be available in 43, 50, 55 and 65-inch screen sizes.
These new partnerships cover a healthy price mix, although it’s interesting that some of the brands – Toshiba and Metz – have chosen to give Freely priority on the more expensive, feature-rich TVs. This suggests that they see its features, such as the ability to pause live TV, as a higher-quality offering than Freeview.
Metz will use Freely to offer antenna-free television from the largest free-to-air channels and catch-up services on its QLED+ TVs with Dolby Vision and Atmos
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Commenting on the new partnerships, Deep Halder, Chief Commercial Officer of Everyone TV, said: “After recently launching Freely on new Hisense and Bush TVs, we are excited to announce the increasing availability of Freely on four new smart TV partners set to launch later this year.”
“Freely is a joint venture between the UK’s leading broadcasters and is based on collaboration. It is encouraging to see more and more industry representatives coming together to contribute to Freely’s success and work together to secure the future of free TV.”
Every TV says you can enjoy linear TV at speeds as low as 10Mbps over your broadband connection. For comparison, Netflix only needs 5Mbps for 1080p HD picture quality. For reference, in April 2023, Ofcom reported that the average download speed for UK households was 70Mbps.
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As long as you have a valid TV license, Freely brings all live and on-demand content together in one place for free. The launch of this broadband platform comes after research revealed that half of UK households will watch TV exclusively over WiFi by 2030.
Alongside BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 channels, Everyone TV confirmed that it is in talks with UKTV to bring its portfolio of free channels to Freely via your broadband connection. UKTV, the award-winning brand that owns and operates channels such as Dave, Drama, Yesterday and W, has announced plans for a comprehensive rebranding exercise next month.