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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 organization behind Freeview and Freesat backed by the UK’s biggest broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – brings the number of TV brands with plans to support Freely to the total number. out of six. Free running in the UK in April with a handful of Hisense TVs.
The biggest absentee remains Samsung, the world’s largest TV brand for the past 18 consecutive years. Every TV has teased that we can expect “new brands of smart TVs to be introduced in the coming months,” but there’s no guarantee that Samsung will decide to embrace this new platform.
Currently, anyone who buys a new Smart TV from Hisense, Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic or Metz will use Freely to stream live TV, catch-up and on-demand boxsets. Freeview’s successor ditches the traditional TV aerial.
Freely is not a software upgrade to existing Freeview hardware. Instead, it was built from the ground up for streaming and comes with a new user interface and modern features such as the ability to pause and resume live shows from free-to-air channels such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
EVERY TV PRESS OFFICE
Instead, the most popular free-to-air channels are streamed over a wireless or cable Internet connection. This is similar to solutions such as Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin Media Streamand the rebooted EE TV launched last year. Relying on broadband means you’ll be able to place your TV anywhere in the house with a decent Wi-Fi signal – not where the antenna comes into the wall.
However, this industry-wide trend has some experts sounding the alarm that those without a decent internet connection it could be left unable to watch live television by 2040.
Freely is not available as a software update for existing Freeview or Freesat viewers. Since it requires new hardware, you will only be able to start benefiting from it its new functions — for example, the ability to access all episodes on demand from the show list in TV Guide and the ability to restart a show from the beginning with a single tap — when upgrading to a new TV.
Toshiba’s new Freely-compatible TVs offer QLED 4K picture quality paired with Dolby Atmos-certified sound, while Sharp is integrating Freely into its new 4K and 4K QLED Smart TV lineup. Panasonic Freely will adopt its 2024 lineup of 4K OLED, QLED and LED TVs.
Metz, one of the oldest TV brands in Germany, will launch new freely compatible QLED+ TVs that include Dolby Vision and Atmos. These high-end flat screens will be available in 43-, 50-, 55- and 65-inch sizes.
These new partnerships cover a healthy mix of price points, although it’s interesting that some of the brands – Toshiba and Metz – have decided to favor the Freely in more expensive, feature-packed TVs. This suggests they see its functionality, such as the ability to pause live TV, as a more premium proposition than Freeview.
Metz will use Freely to offer free viewing of the largest free-to-air channels and catch-up services on its QLED+ TVs with Dolby Vision and Atmos
METZ PRESS OFFICE
Everyone TV Commercial Director Deep Halder said of the new partnerships: “Following the recent launch of Freely on the new Hisense and Bush TVs, we are delighted to announce the increased availability of Freely with four new smart TV partners to be launched later. this year.
“A joint venture between the UK’s leading broadcasters, Freely is built on collaboration and it’s encouraging to see more of the industry coming together to contribute to Freely’s success and work together to secure the future of free-to-air TV.”
Every TV says you’ll be able to enjoy linear TV over your broadband connection at speeds of up to 10 Mbps. In comparison, Netflix only requires 5 Mbps for 1080p HD image quality. In April 2023, Ofcom reported an average download speed for UK households of 70 Mbps for reference.
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If you have a valid TV license, everything on Freely brings together free live and on-demand content in one place. The launch of the broadband platform comes as research shows half of UK households will watch TV exclusively over Wi-Fi by 2030.
As well as channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, Every TV has confirmed discussions are underway with UKTV to bring its portfolio of free-to-air channels to Freely over your broadband. UKTV, the award-winning brand that owns and operates channels such as Dave, Drama, Yesterday and W, has announced that it plans to undergo a comprehensive rebranding next month.