UK broadcasters to release free 'aerial-less' digital TV service

20 September 2023 , 15:20

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The UK's biggest broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, are going all-out to compete against the large streaming giants. (Image: Getty Images)

The days of needing an aerial to watch TV could be numbered, as the UK's biggest broadcasters have developed a new platform to deliver live television over broadband.

The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are going all-out to compete against the large streaming giants through a new digital service allowing viewers to access all freely available channels through the internet. Called 'Freely', the new service will be built into the next generation of smart TVs from next year, in effect taking the Freeview TV platform on to the internet. Brits will then be able to watch live TV channels as well as on-demand content streamed to smart TVs through their broadband.

At the moment, we can only watch live broadcasts over broadband through broadcaster's individual apps, which can be fiddly - plus there is no electronic guide, which can make using them rather cumbersome. Barb viewing data from last year shows that more than half of all UK viewing is Live TV.

The new Freely service is currently being developed by Everyone TV, which runs runs free TV in the UK and is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Everyone TV chief executive Jonathan Thompson said the service was a “reflection of the fact that a growing number of UK viewers are watching content online, but still want easy access to the shared experience of live TV”.

Thompson said around 15 per cent of homes never actually plug their TVs into an aerial. He said the rest opt to stream over their broadband instead, and are quite happy to watch via apps such as Netflix and iPlayer. And this trend will only get stronger, with the forecast to grow to around half of us doing this by 2030.

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Director-general of the BBC Tim Davie said that “ensuring the universality of public-service television is sustained into the future is of paramount importance to the UK and all its public service broadcasters”. While chief executive of ITV Dame Carolyn McCall said: “as more and more UK households use internet-connected TVs, it’s critical that the public service broadcaster (PSB) channels remain available and easy for them to find”.

She added: “This new collaboration enables the UK public to continue to get all of their favourite British TV channels, for free - just as Freeview did at the advent of digital TV. Alongside the important reforms set out in the draft media bill it will help PSBs to continue to thrive for years to come.

What do YOU think? Do you plug an aerial into your TV, or have you shifted to streaming over the internet? Let us know in the comments below.

Paul Speed