Traditional Freeview and Freesat are living on borrowed time – and the upcoming set-top Freely streaming box shows exactly where we’re heading.
Last week, Everyone TV announced that their long-awaited Freely box is finally happening – but we revealed a detail that tells you everything about where British television is heading: the new device, launching later this year, won’t have an aerial port at all.
For those unfamiliar with Freely, it’s Everyone TV’s attempt to drag free television into the streaming age. Instead of using an aerial or satellite dish, Freely delivers live TV channels and catch-up services through your broadband connection.
It launched in April 2024 on new smart TVs, offering access to BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and around 40 other channels.
Current Freely TVs include aerial connections to “top up” with traditional Freeview channels that haven’t made the streaming transition yet. But the new Freely box abandons that compromise entirely – you get what’s available through your broadband connection, and nothing else.
It’s a streaming-only vision of free TV that solves some problems while creating others – and it’s happening whether you’re ready for it or not.
Here’s what that means for your television watching.
Following Sky and Virgin’s Streaming-First Playbook
Freely isn’t pioneering this streaming-only approach – it’s following the lead of every major TV provider in the UK, all of whom have quietly made a similar decision.
Sky, the company that built its empire on satellite dishes, now gets 90% of its new customers through Sky Stream and Glass – a box that works exactly like the upcoming Freely device.
No aerial port, no satellite connection, just internet streaming. Even Sky Glass treats its built-in aerial as nothing more than an “emergency backup” that can’t integrate with Sky’s main streaming services.
Virgin Media made an even more aggressive move recently, quietly switching to make their aerial-free Stream box the default for all new customers.
Want traditional Virgin TV 360 with actual cable connections? You’ll need to ask specifically and pay extra – if it’s even available in your area.
This is exactly the path Freely is now taking. The platform launched with aerial support as a compromise, letting you access traditional Freeview channels that hadn’t made the streaming transition yet.
But the new Freely box from Netgem strips that away, forcing a choice: accept what’s available through streaming, or stick with traditional Freeview equipment that’s increasingly being abandoned.
For viewers in areas with poor aerial reception, this could actually be liberating.
Freely’s streaming approach means you can get BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and other main channels with perfect picture quality, regardless of hills, buildings, or dodgy aerial installations that plague traditional Freeview.
But it also means accepting that dozens of smaller channels simply won’t exist in Freely’s world – unless they can afford to run their own streaming services, they’ll disappear when traditional broadcasting ends.
Government Policy: Freely as the 2040 Solution
The government hasn’t been shy about their plans for television’s future, and Freely sits right at the centre of that vision.
When BBC bosses faced MPs earlier this year, they were honest about supporting the transition to internet-based television by 2040 – as long as someone else pays for it.
Research by the University of Exeter shows that by then, around 70% of UK homes will rely entirely on broadband for their television.
Freely is clearly designed to be the solution for those homes. It offers the main public service channels that the government considers essential, delivered through broadband rather than traditional broadcasting.
No aerial required, no satellite dish needed, just plug into your internet connection and go.
For the estimated 1.5 million households who might struggle with this transition – older people, rural communities, lower-income families – Freely’s approach creates both opportunities and problems.
On the positive side, Freely could solve reception issues that have plagued traditional Freeview for years. If you’ve got decent broadband, you get reliable access to the main channels (and plenty of others) regardless of geographical obstacles.
But that “decent broadband” requirement is important. The average UK broadband connection costs nearly £27 per month – a significant barrier for households where that money could mean the difference between heating and eating.
While discounted social tariffs exist, only 220,000 homes use them despite 4.3 million being eligible.
Freely transforms “free” TV from genuinely free (once you have the equipment) to requiring an ongoing monthly internet subscription.
Some would say broadband is like electricity or water at this point – but for vulnerable households, that’s not a trivial change.
Why Traditional Broadcasting Can’t Compete
The Freely approach isn’t just about convenience – it’s about economics that make traditional broadcasting increasingly impossible to sustain.
The UK is still using broadcasting technology from the 1990s, making us notably behind countries like France and Spain that have upgraded to more efficient systems.
This technological lag becomes critical after 2031, when TV broadcasters might need to share their radio spectrum with mobile companies.
Freely sidesteps this entire problem by using the internet instead of radio waves. While traditional Freeview faces spectrum pressure and outdated technology, Freely can offer channels in HD or even 4K quality limited only by your broadband speed.
The BBC’s own analysis shows why this matters financially. By 2030, traditional satellite broadcasting will cost around five times more per viewer hour than today, simply because fewer people are watching linear TV.
Freely’s internet-based approach scales much more efficiently – adding new viewers doesn’t require expensive transmitter infrastructure or spectrum management.
For broadcasters, Freely offers something traditional Freeview can’t: detailed viewing analytics. They know exactly what you’re watching, when you stop watching, and what you watch next.
This data goldmine helps justify the cost of streaming services in ways that traditional broadcasting never could.
But this efficiency comes with trade-offs. Traditional Freeview continues working during internet outages and some power cuts. Freely goes dark the moment your broadband fails, creating potential problems for emergency broadcasting that haven’t been fully addressed.
The Recording Problem Freely Won’t Solve
One of the biggest casualties of Freely’s streaming-only approach is something many viewers still value: the ability to record programmes.
As we’ve covered extensively, TV recording is already dying across all platforms.
The Manhattan T4-R represents possibly the last great Freeview recorder, but Manhattan has made it clear they won’t support Freely due to its lack of recording functionality (though they could, in theory, release their version of the standalone Freely box in the future).
Freely’s approach to this is telling. Instead of recording, you get a 15-minute pause buffer and the promise that programmes will be available through broadcasters’ catch-up services.
Miss something? Hopefully it’s on iPlayer. Want to rewatch that documentary next year? Better hope the BBC hasn’t moved it to a paid subscription service like Netflix.
This represents a fundamental shift from ownership to access. Traditional Freeview recording let you build a permanent library of programmes that couldn’t disappear due to licensing disputes or broadcaster whims.
Freely makes everything temporary and dependent on ongoing streaming agreements.
For some viewers, this won’t matter. If you’re comfortable with catch-up services and rarely rewatch programmes, Freely’s approach might actually be more convenient than managing recordings and storage.
But for households that rely on recording to skip adverts, build libraries of content, or watch programmes on their own schedule, Freely only offers a partial solution.
The streaming-only future it represents simply doesn’t accommodate these viewing habits.
The Freesat Promise That Never Materialised
When Freely launched, Everyone TV made a significant promise: satellite-compatible devices would follow, giving Freesat viewers a path into the streaming future.
More than a year later, there’s no sign of these satellite-enabled Freely devices, and Everyone TV is keeping mute on whether they’re still planned.
Sky’s recent decision to extend its satellite contract until 2029 gives Freesat a temporary reprieve, but it doesn’t change the fundamental economics – when Sky finally abandons satellite broadcasting, the infrastructure becomes unviable for just 1 million Freesat homes.
Freely’s original satellite promise suggested a hybrid approach where existing Freesat viewers could gradually transition to streaming while keeping their dishes as backup (as is currently the case on Freely TVs, with their aerial port).
The new aerial-free Freely box suggests that Everyone TV is slowly abandoning this compromise.
Instead, Freesat viewers will eventually face a stark choice: stick with satellite services that have a clear expiry date, or jump directly to streaming-only Freely with no satellite fallback.
For rural areas where Freesat often provides better signal quality than terrestrial Freeview, this creates particular problems.
Freely requires reliable broadband that simply isn’t available in many areas where satellite TV has been the preferred solution.
What Freely Gets Right (And Wrong)
The upcoming Freely box represents both the promise and the limitations of streaming-only television.
On the positive side, Freely solves real problems that have frustrated viewers for years. No more adjusting aerials for better reception, no more pixelated pictures during bad weather, no more missing channels because you’re in a poor coverage area.
If you have decent broadband, you get consistent access to the main UK channels with perfect picture quality.
Freely’s interface also offers features that traditional Freeview can’t match. The unified programme guide spans both live channels and catch-up services, making it easier to find content regardless of how you want to watch it.
The “Never Miss” functionality and personalised recommendations provide a more modern viewing experience than traditional electronic programme guides.
For viewers who’ve struggled with poor Freeview reception or complex arrays of streaming apps, Freely genuinely simplifies television watching.
But the limitations are there. The channel lineup is restricted to broadcasters who can afford their own streaming infrastructure. Recording becomes impossible, forcing complete dependence on broadcaster-controlled catch-up services.
Most critically, Freely makes television entirely dependent on internet connectivity. No broadband means no TV at all, not even the ability to watch programmes you might have recorded earlier.
The Transition Timeline: What Happens Next
The Freely box announcement signals that the transition is accelerating, but it won’t happen overnight.
Current Freely TVs will continue working with their aerial connections, giving hybrid households time to adapt gradually. And we might even see future Freely boxes that bring the aerial port back.
Traditional Freeview isn’t disappearing immediately – Ofcom’s roadmap suggests major changes won’t begin until after 2030.
But the direction is clear. New devices like the Netgem Freely box are being designed for a streaming-only world, while traditional broadcasting infrastructure receives minimal investment and faces increasing pressure from spectrum demands and declining viewership.
For current Freeview users, the next few years represent a decision point. Stick with traditional equipment and accept that channel lineups may shrink and technology won’t improve, or embrace Freely’s streaming approach with its benefits and limitations.
The government’s 2040 target for widespread streaming adoption might seem distant, but the infrastructure changes needed to support that transition are happening now.
The Freely box represents the first major piece of hardware designed specifically for that streaming-only future.
- Update: Turns out the BBC is working on a second Freely box
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The issue of areas where Freeview access and broadband is not available so Freesat is relied on has not been addressed. Satellite or wireless internet access is very expensive. Rural areas and locations like caravan parks are going to be left high and dry as usual. It seems to be a move by broadcasters to shift the transmission costs to end users full stop. So much for public service broadcasting.
“or embrace Freely’s streaming approach with its benefits and limitations.”
After reading this article I can not see any benefits and lots of limitations.
I hate TV adverts with a passion, they are so irritating and irrelevant for me. I never watch live commercial TV channels, always record and skip the adverts, the only exception is Friday Night Dinners but then I normally leave the room when the obligatory adverts come on and either go to the loo or pour a drink.
The TV series on the BBC at the moment from NBC St Dennis, it’s on for 20 minutes-ish, I bet in the US with the adverts included I bet it’s scheduled time is at least 30 minutes, probably more. That’s what we have to look forward to, moronic, slow iq killing boring adverts for something you never needed in the first place.
Anybody can record any hdmi output (like a streaming device) using a cheap hdmi to pc adapter and free software like OBS on a pc/laptop. Instructions available on the internet. And as long as you only keep and use it for yourself, it’s perfectly legal. Check out back issues of computer magazines like computer active. Personally I don’t do this, but I see the value of doing so, I just kinda have a massive dvd etc disc collection so see no need to.
The elephant in the room here is the providing of good fast stable internet Uk wide! Even in 2025 this is far from happening. I was at an event the other week in Gloucestershire and the provided wifi and phone 4/5G were terrible! I wasn’t aware that StarLink was now a thing and worked really well…. some people near us had this for their work. This made me think, if Elon can beam the web from space, can’t wifi be delivered from Aquiva’s existing infrastructure either using 5G broadcast or a similar tech to starling to carry a multiuser signal over a distance? I’m no tech nut so not sure how StarLink works, but if an infrastructure like this can be used, then TV isn’t put behind a wifi paywall. I appreciate most folks have wifi at home as a matter of course like a land line phone of yesteryear, so those who can’t afford wifi could be provided by a subsidised a router to their home free for tv if the 5G Broadcast option is a non starter. but in this world data is king! And don’t get me started on ad skipping… shame this is going… but in the commercial world I can see why. Pity….
Absolutely no reason why they can’t add recording functionality to the Freely box, the EE TV Box Pro allows you to record Internet delivered channels.
The only reason they don’t is that they are in the pockets of the big broadcasters who want to force their constant ads on you.
Freely can go take a running jump.
I think the point is that if you want to watch traditional TV you won’t have a choice other than to watch via the Internet.
With the consequent loss of picture quality, not much point in having a top of the range Oled TV for Freely.
Picture quality is very poor when streaming compared to my freesat reception so I won’t be switching to Freely until the satellite options become unavailable.
No matter how technology improves it’s still the same rubbish programmes.
So that’s the future sorted new tv required no aerial socket needed just 2 hdmi ports one for freely box for public service tv and 1 port for firestick to watch everything else no need for a recorder no need for a tv magazine no need for an aerial or dish watch what I like when I like sounds ideal.
…but you have to sit through aprox 10 mins of adverts per hour. I routinely manage to watch a 1 hr program from C4 and C5 in 45 mins by skipping title rubbish, ads and end credits.
Actually, why bother with a samsung/lg/panasonic/Sony tv at all with their viewer monitoring and app controls? Just plug the box into a 4k computer screen!
Much as I’d like to move off Sky, this looks like a walled garden where ads become mandatory.
What I do like about Sky is ad-skipping. It’s worth the monthly £5 fee to skip ads on all the terrestrial catch-up services, even My5 that doesn’t have its own chargable tier. Clearly a framework exists where the front-end EPG can hand off a token recognised by all catch-up apps that bypasses the built-in in, enforced ads. At some point, if ‘Freely Plus’ becomes a thing then it becomes a Sky killer but not before.
The problem with internet tv is lip sync problems. We had Sky Stream and returned it and made Sky replace it with Sky Q box and now We have no lip sync issues…
No way of avoiding Ads when this comes in. You might own the the box but not the content.
When television started, viewers didn’t own the content. When television recording started, to some people, it may have felt like owning some content. But they didn’t really, because of copyright laws.
So no change really.
No recording no interest.
Until it’s forced on me of course. I don’t record much these days but I still do and want the option of it.
It’s certainly possible to add recording to a streaming platform but they won’t of course.
EE TV boxes have both Freeview and Terrestrial channel streaming and the streaming option offers two channel recording (four on the Freeview channels).
Freely is for homes that can’t have an aerial and it’s wonderful for them.
But I’ve got a good aerial so have no need for it anyway.
I have a TV with Freely built in, and I have found a way to record from Freely. If you connect an external drive via USB you can record via the programme guide, though if you want to record in advance you have to manually change the instructions. It’s cumbersome but it works.
Now, you won’t be able to skip adverts , they will have more and more control over you , interruptions , vanished progs and the inevitable …”To view buy a subscription at only *** per month “
This is all bad bad bad for viewers and they don’t know it yet.
Yep. More enshittification. Remember when governments actually gave a damn about consumers? Not any more. Gets in thecway of profits, you see.
Given that Freely is the 2040 solution, isn’t it surprising that the larger UK manufacturers like Samsung and Sony haven’t adopted it yet. They’re going to let the disrupters like TCL and Hisense eat their lunch if they don’t move soon.
They ideally need to work with current products via an app as suggested above, for example Google Amazon, Roku and Apple. Most households have these products already having an app to allow streamed terrestrial viewing is an epg rather than trawling through multiple apps would be great. Unless the device is going to have strong integrals discharge as a decent processor and ram and a good network card it will struggle like the tvs that cannot handle the request without buffering
The intention is to have a Freely TV or box alongside other hardware.
These products you mention don’t support Freeview’s terrestrial channels now.
That would be too simple besides no money to be made with just an app better to make Freely available via licenced tv,s or pucks there’s money to be made that way Jp
Just give us an app for firestick/appletv/roku/lg os etc
Otherwise it’s not free!
No one sensible is going to buy yet another box just to watch free tv.
I love the idea of a unified guide across live and streaming services. However, I still record many programs on my old YouView box, which works well, which my wife can use (very important), and allows me to skip ads, something in sure freely won’t. It’s all about the ads isn’t it?
So no mention of how the infrastructure will cope with ‘everyone’ streaming, how the ISP’s will ask for more money because of the unfair burden they are faced with
iPlayer and Netflix manage.
Freely takes up a lot less infrastructure than Freeview. Totally different infrastructure of course but the current Freeview infrastructure won’t be small.
Much of Freely is managed by your internet provider too.
Good point whether they’ll like this though.
That and TV Licence avoidance, which is costing the Beeb an absolute fortune. Putting everything online will make it far easier to track who’s watching what using IP addresses etc. Capita ‘inspectors’ will be out of a job though, and as for those ‘detector vans’ 😀
Surely the reason for the freely box not having a aerial socket is to reduce cost. It is designed to be connected to a TV which almost definitely has a Freeview tuner built-in.
At the moment it is completing with smart TV boxes: android, Roku, Chromecast etc.
This is all very exciting, but I bring to the table an age-old argument that Freely requires an ‘app’ to truely get off the ground.
I use a Chromecast with Google TV (CCWGTV) in several rooms across the house and have now lived without an aerial connection to any of these TV’s for some time. (I hear you Firestick users asking for the same ‘app’, and we’re all in the same boat). Said ‘app’ doesn’t need to be all-singing-all-dancing but it does need to provide an ‘EPG’ (Electronic Program Guide/Channel Guide/Call it what you want), but it is sorely missing from the CCWGTV at least.
Give me that program guide and I’d be happy to say goodbye to the aerial already. (In fact, I already have, but it’s just an inconvenience being without an EPG).
So, come on, Everyone TV, give us an EPG, even if it’s just a rebranded version of the Freeview app that works so well on other Android devices!
I’m with you – you just need to make it a bit more convenient for everyone!
No it doesn’t require an app to get off the ground.
It’s a Freeview replacement which didn’t have or is used even less via an app.
It sounds like you’ve got used to boot having terrestrial channels. Google TV didn’t offer them.
Admittedly, I don’t know sales figures for the ccwgtv, Roku, Firesticks or any others, but what I meant was that if there were an app for these devices, I’m sure that the uptake for Freely would accelerate quite considerably. I, for one would install a Freely/EPG app if there were one available, alongside many other people based on articles I’ve read.
You’re quite right though, Google TV does not offer terrestrial channels in the common sense of the word, but there are apps to the well-known channels – BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, Channel 5 and several others (along with the relatively new ‘Channels’ section on the homescreen). At present, the only way to see what’s playing on these channels is to go into each individual app and see, which is not the most convenient way of doing things. (Of course, there are other means to find out what’s playing but it would be more convenient as a one-stop-shop if an EPG of some description were available – Enter Freely!)
I could install the channel apps as above and the Freeview app on an Android tablet (or phone) and on selecting a program via the Freeview app, its respective channel app would load. I don’t see any reason why such a feature shouldn’t be made available for the streaming devices already mentioned and Freely are missing a trick here (or so far anyway).
What he said!!
No thanks. If I could access live TV through my Chromecast, I’d have to buy a TV licence, because it would technically become ‘installed’ receiving equipment for the purposes of the Communications Act. In fact, I’m sure the powers that be are planning on catching a lot of people out that way, even if they never actually watch live TV.
@Rich
From my perspective, I have a TV licence so your concerns don’t really apply to me but I do understand where you’re coming from.
I don’t suggest that a Freely app on ccwgtv should be a compulsory installation though. Optional only, and only for those interested in a feature (EPG, for me), that it could provide.
Thanks for sharing your angle though!
I’ll stick with my old Sky HD DRX595 and Amazon fire TV until satellite stops broadcasting, or I have to buy a new tv, the Fire TV is only a year old so shouldn’t be anytime soon..
I expect this isn’t for you.
It’s for the Freeview market. That’s no suggestion Sky is removing satellite support.
Although I bet they’re discussing it.
I might have been using freely if there was a firmware update to use it on my fire tv. Only using satellite for free to air live tv, the tv aerial is not even plugged in..
But I believe Sky have only committed to continue satellite transmission up to 2029?
I think this statement is a little premature, the majority of the country have an aerial of some kind, so are able to get all Freeview channels, where Freely, at this time, can not, therefore I believe Freeview will be here for some time yet. I also have a Freeview box that records, a big plus, which I would certainly miss, in fact, unless they do away with aerials altogether, I don’t see me switching anytime soon. Obviously I do appreciate that more are streaming, I for one do, but still love my Freeview box.
I read that “borrowed time” is meant rather loosely.