Freely, the service that allows U.K. viewers to watch live broadcast channels over the Internet rather than through an aerial, has announced that it’s expanding its availability to two major new TV brands.
Thanks to deals with Barcelona-based operating system Titan OS and TV manufacturer TP Vision, Freely will be available in the U.K. as a content option on select 2025 TVs from both Philips and JVC. The first Philips TVs to support it are set to launch before the end of this month (May 2025), and while a list of specific model numbers hasn’t yet been released, it has been confirmed that the Philips Freely models will also carry the brand’s exclusive Ambilight technology. This delivers a less tiring and more immersive viewing experience by using rear-mounted LEDs to cast immersive coloured light pools onto the wall around the screen – light pools that can even be set to track the tone and position of the colour content of the film or TV show you’re watching.
Freely hasn’t shared a list of the precise JVC models that will be covered by the new Freely deal either, but basically it should be any JVC set carrying the Titan OS that’s launched from this summer at electronics retailer Currys.
According to Freely, the new Philips and JVC deals, which join previous deals with Amazon Fire TVs, Bush, Hisense, METZ, Panasonic, Sharp, TCL, TiVo, Toshiba and the VIDAA smart platform, mean that its service will be available on almost half of the UK TV market.
“We’re excited to bring Freely to the JVC TV range, giving customers even more flexibility to enjoy the content they love,” says Senior Buyer for Currys, Paul Slater. “By adding this free-to-use platform to our affordable JVC range, which is available exclusively at Currys, we’re continuing our mission to help everyone enjoy amazing technology.”
Alongside the announcement of its two new TV brand partners, Freely has also revealed that its service, which is backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and claims to carry 97% of the U.K.’s “favourite TV Shows” on both a live and on-demand basis, will be rolling out a duo of new content-finding features over the coming weeks.
A new Backwards TV Guide is designed to make it easier for viewers to watch shows that have recently aired by allowing them to simply scroll back to earlier in the day on the Freely electronic programme guide. Once you’ve got to the programme you missed, you can either start streaming it right away, or else add it to the previously announced My List feature.
My List makes it possible for the first time to save up to 50 favourite TV shows from any of the U.K.’s biggest free-to-air broadcasters all in one easy access place, rather than you having to re-search for favourite shows every time you want to watch them.
The second of the new features coming to Freely, Never Miss, highlights on the Freely home page the most talked about coming up, on now and just missed TV shows, as well as spotlighting the most popular and high profile shows available via Freely’s huge on-demand content library.
Both of these new features are set to be rolled out in an upcoming Freely Next firmware update that will arrive automatically onto any Freely-capable TV that’s connected to Wi-Fi.
“Our new features—Backwards TV Guide, Never Miss, and My List—make finding, saving, and jumping back into great content effortless, whether live or on demand,” says Co-Chief Product Officer at Freely, Sarah Milton. “Freely keeps evolving, offering premium features for free that other streaming platforms don’t have. And now with Freely becoming available on a wider range of new smart TVs, even more households will be able to enjoy this enhanced free streaming experience.”
—
Related Reading
Freely Streaming Service To Add 16 New Live Channels
Free Streaming Service Freely Adds Four New Content Partners
