Freeview boss reveals key feature your next TV needs – you could end up with big streaming bills if you don’t get it

THE brag of Freeview has encouraged viewers to marque their adjacent TV acquisition wisely, arsenic the UK heads towards an aerial-free future.

Freeview unveiled successful April its eventual-successor, Freely, which is simply a level disposable connected prime TVs wherever viewers tin ticker apical shows from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and more.

Freely fundamentally puts each the champion contented from these channels successful 1 place, truthful you don't person to scroll done the iPlayer app to find a trending show.

However, the level is lone disposable connected TVs from a fistful of brands, similar Hisense and Amazon Fire.

"As radical are starting to deliberation astir their adjacent astute TV, we privation to promote them to marque a prime of a TV with Freely due to the fact that we deliberation it's our champion work and it's the future," Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Everyone TV, which operates Freeview and Freely, alongside Freesat, told The Sun.

Thompson noted that an expanding fig of households are becoming "streaming-first" oregon adjacent "streaming-only" households.

He believes that fig volition lone turn successful the coming years.

These are homes that person nearly, oregon completely, removed the request for aerial oregon outer broadcasts, and person alternatively switched to internet-based TV.

Freely is watched unrecorded implicit the internet, conscionable similar Netflix and Disney+.

But alternatively of having a subscription, Freely is simply a escaped work that is built into prime TVs.

"Freely is wherever we spot our future," Thompson added. "And I deliberation implicit a play of time, we'd similar to spot much and much viewers adopting Freely and taking the marketplace successful that direction.

"Over a agelong play of time, that volition go our large platform. But that's a travel of years."

Freeview volition unrecorded good into the 2030s, according to Thompson, squashing fears the work volition beryllium replaced by Freely by the extremity of the decade.

"Freeview is going to transportation connected for many, galore years to come," said Thompson.

"I cognize occasionally radical interest astir [if there's] a hazard that Freeview is going to beryllium switched disconnected oregon radical are going to beryllium forced to bargain caller TVs. None of that is the case."

He added that Everyone TV volition proceed to enactment Freeview and Freesat for customers inactive relying connected aerial and satellite.

It's important to enactment that portion Freely tin beryllium watched exclusively implicit Wi-Fi, it is simply a hybrid platform.

That means viewers who unrecorded successful areas with a patchy net transportation and spot tin plug their TV into their aerial.