It’s that time of month again – and this time, quite a few changes are coming to Freeview, including a new channel dedicated to reality TV and real-life heroes, a new films channel, and more.
However, along with the good comes the bad, and a couple of Freeview channels – including the popular SportyStuff TV – are being shut down.
As always, this also means some channels are moving around and changing places, which means that most viewers would need to do a manual retune.
Most of these changes are effective as of today, March 20, 2024.
- If You Missed It: See Freeview’s February Updates.
Freeview, which started its life back in 2002, is the United Kingdom’s terrestrial television platform. It provides free-to-air TV channels and radio stations (via a Freeview aerial – see the ones we recommend), including more than 80 standard and HD channels. You can watch it on any supported TV, or by using a set-top Freeview box.
To watch Freeview via broadband, you’ll need one of the new subscription-based devices like Sky Stream or Virgin Media Stream (though not all Freeview channels are available on these devices). Later in 2024, Freeview is set to launch its own broadband-based platform – “Freely”, but at launch, it will only be available on next-gen Smart TVs.
See our full Freeview guide here.
New Freeview Channels
Great! Real Channel
The company behind the “Great!” TV and film channels (which were recently removed from Freesat) is adding another channel dedicated to factual and reality TV.
Great! Real will highlight dramatic and genuine narratives focused on real individuals and occurrences, such as on-call medics, police patrols and coastal rescue operations.
The lineup will feature shows like Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport, Paddington Station 24/7, Island Medics, Emergency Rescue: Air, Land and Sea, and Coast Guard Alaska.
From today, Great! Real is available on Freeview Channel 61.
However, the channel currently has limited coverage around the UK, so some households won’t be able to get it even after a retune.
Filmstream
Filmstream is a streaming-only channel that offers a “specially curated selection of independent world cinema gems and classic movies, perfect for viewers who appreciate the art of cinema”.
The channel, which is already available on other ad-supported streaming services such as the Plex Channels, promises great entertainment with cult classics, arthouse fare, international documentaries, and critically acclaimed short films.
Filmstream is an internet-based channel, meaning it can only be delivered via broadband, and will not reach your house via the aerial.
To watch streaming-only Freeview channels, you need a modern Freeview device that supports the HbbTV standard – most modern Smart TVs with Freeview Play, and Freeview Play set-top boxes (like the Manhattan T3-R, Humax Aura and others) already support this standard.
Once your device is connected to broadband, you will be able to reach these IP-only Freeview channels like a normal channel through the electronic TV Guide.
Filmstream is available on Connected Freeview Channel 269.
Shop On TV
If you were missing yet another teleshopping channel – this one will scratch that itch, with nightly broadcasts for now, and day broadcasts in the near future.
Shop On TV is available on Freeview Channel 89.
That’s TV UK (Manchester)
The channel, which is dedicated to nostalgia and retro-based programming, is now also available in Manchester – on Freeview Channel 92.
Freeview Channel Changes
A few channels are changing places:
ITV4+1 Moved From Freeview Channel 89 To Freeview Channel 93
Together TV+1 Moved From Freeview Channel 92 To Freeview Channel 90
Pop Moved From Freeview Channel 206 To Freeview Channel 205
Pop Max Moved From Freeview Channel 208 To Freeview Channel 206
Pop Player Moved From Freeview Channel 212 To Freeview Channel 208
Freeview Channel Closures
SportyStuff TV Shutting Down
SportyStuff TV, a free-to-air sports broadcaster in the UK, will close on March 31, 2024, marking the end of its services across Freesat, Freeview, and Sky platforms.
This decision brings to a close a 12-year journey. SportyStuff TV was celebrated for its unique focus on greyhound racing, motorsports, and other less mainstream sports, aiming to serve underserved sports communities.
For Freeview viewers, this means the loss of a channel that was accessible via streaming on Channel Box (271), further narrowing the options for free-to-access sports content.
Tiny Pop
Aimed at preschoolers, this channel offered educational and entertaining content designed to captivate and engage young minds.
Tiny Pop is not disappearing completely – instead, its linear channel on Freeview Channel 207 is being removed, but it will live on as a broadband-only channel.
Furthermore, some of the content will remain available on-demand via the Pop Player, which is available on some streaming devices as well as Freeview Play devices.
Great! Movies Extra
The channel, which covered the full range of film genres – from rom-com to hard-hitting action, summer blockbusters to critically-acclaimed indie darlings – has now been replaced by the new Great! Real channel on Freeview Channel 61.
Retune Your Freeview Device
As always, when Freeview changes take place, most people need to retune their Freeview devices and TVs – otherwise, channel numbers and names may be incorrect, and new channels will not show up.
Some devices do this retune automatically, but others might require a manual retune for this month’s changes to update correctly.
You can find more information on how to retune your device, on Freeview’s retuning help section.
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I get really annoyed because we live in north Norfolk so we get a really limited amount of channels and we pay teh same licence as everybody else.
You don’t pay for these channels tv licence is only for bbc channels
Indeed, it is odd. Hundreds of channels and nothing on, IMHO. And, how niche can you go? Extreme crocheting?
I can’t help but wonder if some of these channels are offering a specialist viewing experience appealing to only a small audience, which then brings into question how are they financed. I can’t imagine a major TV advertiser using one of these channels, thereby resulting in eventual closer and channel reshuffle and more inconvenience for us the customer this seems to be the norm these days. I ask the question is this the future of public broadcasting ?