A FREE rival to Sky’s Glass and Stream internet TV services is set to receive a big content boost.
Freely was launched earlier this year by the operators behind Freeview, beaming live channels into homes via Wi-Fi instead of the traditional aerial.
The service is built into new TVs and works as a hybrid model, meaning it can switch between Wi-Fi and aerial.
Having channels over the internet can be beneficial as it avoids any signal problems – and in theory could result in an infinite number of channels being available unlike Freeview which has limited capacity.
But when Freely launched in April, only the main broadcasters – BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – offered the streamed option.
Later, U&Dave, U&Drama, U&W and U&Yesterday were added.
Now a further eight streamed channels are joining the TV guide early next year, Everyone TV has announced.
It includes LEGEND, packed with nostalgic, action-packed shows, as well as the expert-led, investigative TRUE CRIME.
Another four streaming services are also being added too at no extra cost.
WATCH FREE UK – from AMC and Paramount Global – are in the mix, and PBS America, offering top factual shows from America’s public broadcaster.
The move brings the total number of Wi-Fi enabled channels on Freely to more than 40.
“These new collaborations mark a significant milestone as Freely continues to redefine the streaming experience, offering something for everyone, with content across a variety of genres,” said Jonathan Thompson, CEO at Everyone TV, which is backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
“From groundbreaking storytelling to rich historical programming and an engaging shopping experience, we are excited to offer an increasingly competitive free viewing experience with these new channels and on demand players.
“We look forward to continued collaboration across the industry, bringing even more entertaining and engaging content to Freely.”
See the full list of new channels joining Freely via Wi-Fi below:
Here is the full list of new streaming apps that are also coming to Freely:
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
Some corners of the internet believe that a free streamed TV service like Freely has been a long time coming.
Sky paved the way with Sky Glass in October 2021.
There are some advantages and disadvantages to this way of doing TV.
The biggest pro is that you can have so many more channels than Freeview. Freeview has a limited amount of space, which is why you see some of these odd channels that only air for a few hours a day instead of 24 hours.
Another win is that you’ll no longer have to worry about your aerial or satellite dish packing up, so no paying for new kit or someone to install it.
And areas that have long suffered with poor aerial signals finally have a solution too.
However, there are some potential pitfalls – what if the internet goes down? Sky Glass has a back-up aerial port on it should this happen.
Freely currently offers a similar “hybrid” option.
Internet-based TV services don’t tend to allow you to record stuff like you can on digital and satellite either – Sky Glass keeps shows in the cloud for you, which again presents a problem if the internet is down.
And while internet speeds are getting faster and more reliable, some rural areas still suffer with poor broadband.
The problem for Freely is the number of channels that are available to stream, which is still no match for the existing Freeview set via aerial.
But, as we’ve seen with today’s announcement, the list is steadily growing and has the ability to surpass Freeview in future.
It’s also built into new smarts TVs including Amazon Fire TVs, Hisense, Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, TCL and Panasonic 2024 – and not something you can add via a Firestick-like device to your existing telly.
