It seems Freeview continues to rival Sky’s more premium service with millions of UK homes continuing to get their fix of content via this free-to-view platform. Official stats – which have just been released by GFK, PTV Panel – confirm that nearly 23 million Freeview-powered TVs have now been sold in the UK. That’s a petty impressive statistic that’s helped Freeview remain in the top spot as the UK’s biggest TV platform.
“Since launch, Freeview has continued to grow and bring the best of free TV into people’s homes.” said Owen Jenkinson, Director of Freeview. “This new milestone cements the appetite for free, accessible TV in the UK as new players and channels continue to be added to the service every year at no cost to viewers.”
For those not in the know, Freeview is beamed to homes via their aerials and offers access to over 70 channels without needing a subscription. Along with the standard way of viewing content, some more modern screens also have the Freeview Play service built in. This platform uses broadband to access live and on-demand shows with Freeview boasting that it now offers instant access to over 60,000 hours of on-demand content and over 1,500 boxsets.
This latest news comes as we’re expecting another service from team Freeview to launch very soon. Everyone TV, which runs Freeview and Freesat, confirmed earlier this year that it is launching a new service. called Freely. This new platform will stream live and on-demand content to TVs across the UK via the internet rather than sending over the airwaves.
That will put Freely in direct competition with Sky’s Stream box and Glass TV which both use broadband to beam entertainment, sports and movies into living rooms.
Full details about this new free-to-view service are yet to be confirmed but Express.co.uk has had an early first glimpse of its TV guide and simple way to browse to content.
This manufacturer has more than 20 TV brands including Toshiba, Bush, and JVC and will now be featuring the new streaming service on its screens meaning there will be no need for a separate set-top box.
“It’s clear the way people are watching TV is changing, with more audiences switching over to a broadband only connection,” said Sarah Milton and Carl Pfeiffer, Joint Chief Product Officers, Everyone TV.
“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.”