Freely is the new kid on the streaming block, effectively replacing Freeview Play, and after launching in 2024 on Hisense and other TVs, it’s expanding its reach to more brands.
Those brands specifically are JVC and Philips TVs that feature Titan OS, which is another streaming platform that aims to rival the likes of Google TV and Samsung’s Tizen. Freely, which offers the UK catch-up and on-demand apps over an Internet connection, will be integrated with Titan OS, making it easier to find your favourite British series and popular films.
You won’t find Freely on Samsung or LG TVs
This deal means that Freely is available on TVs that represent half of the UK market. The list of supported TV brands includes Amazon Fire TVs, Bush, Hisense, Metz, Panasonic, Sharp, TCL, TiVo, Toshiba and VIDAA.
It won’t, however, be coming to the likes of Samsung, which has its TV Plus platform in place; nor will you see it on LG TVs, which has dropped Freeview Play/Freely in favour of its own LG Channel service.
More features are coming for free
And given that Freely is an online platform, it’s easy to add more features, and as part of the Freely Next update, the following features will be added.
The ‘Backwards TV Guide’ will allow users to scroll back in time like Doctor Strange with the time stone to earlier in the day or scroll back a full seven days, briding the gap between live content and on demand.
Freely say this feature will require less searching and switching between apps. At this moment in time you can look forward seven days in advance to plan what you’re going to watch so this will be a help addition if you’ve missed anything.
With the ‘Never Miss’ feature it highlights TV that’s coming up, or currently on or what you’ve just missed. The ‘My List’ will allow you to save up to 50 of your favourite shows in one place, so you can access them whenever you need to.
Freely is, well, free and doesn’t require a subscription to access. It does require a TV with a Wi-Fi connection to allow for updates over the air. The Philips Titan OS models are available from May 2025 onwards, while the JVC TVs will be available in Currys in the summer.
