You should update your Freely TV now! GB News releases on Smart TVs equipped with Freeview successor
GB News is now available to watch on Freely — the successor to Freeview, which launched last summer.
Yes, our popular news and opinion channel, which toppled Sky News and BBC News in the final few weeks of last year, became available to stream via Wi-Fi to all Freely TVs from January 15, 2025.
Don’t panic if you can’t see the channel immediately, Freely warns that changes to internet-delivered channels can take up to 24 hours to roll-out to flatscreen TVs nationwide.
The People’s Channel was included as part of a significant expansion of the free-to-air platform’s content offering. While GB News has always been available to watch on Freeview and Freesat — the other platforms built and operated by Everyone TV — it was not available at launch on the streaming-only successor.
The arrival of GB News is one of several free updates that have rolled-out to Freely viewers in recent days, including the additional of a new My List feature designed to make finding your favourite shows easier.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO at Everyone TV, called the collaboration with GB News and others “a significant milestone as Freely continues to redefine the streaming experience, offering something for everyone.”
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Freely is backed by the UK’s biggest broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, bringing modern streaming capabilities to free-to-air television.
It delivers content via Wi-Fi connection rather than traditional aerial, which means you can place your flatscreen TV anywhere in the room as long as it has a minimum internet speed of 10Mbps. Relying on Wi-Fi also enables a number of features typically associated with the Sky TV devices, like the ability to pause and restart live television shows.
Your Freely-powered Smart TV should’ve received downloaded and installed a free update in recent days. This is what enables GB News to be viewed on the flatscreen without an aerial connected.
However, it’s possible your Smart TV wasn’t updated automatically. If you can’t find GB News in the TV Guide, then you can manually install the latest software update by following these steps:
Open the TV GuideClick on the gear-shaped icon in the top right corner — this opens SettingsSelect Software UpdateScan for new software and install if you’re running an old version of Freely
“If your TV is only connected via Wi-Fi, all you need to do is keep Freely up to date to make sure you can carry on watching all the channels,” the team at Everyone TV explains.However, if you’re using an aerial to add extra channels to Freely not yet available on the streaming-only platform, you might need to manually retune the system. Changes to the channels available, like the roll-out on January 15, can cause issues with Channel Numbers, so it’s worth refreshing the system with a retune.
Most TVs will ask you to rescan for channel updates whenever there are changes to the channel lineup. With most aerial-connected devices, you’ll just have to press Rescan when asked.
If your TV doesn’t ask you to do this, you may need to manually start the rescan. This process can vary slightly depending on the model of television that you’re watching on, but it usually involves the following steps:
Visit Settings menuSelect Channel or similarSelect Auto Scan and follow the on-screen instructionsOnce your Freely TV has updated, these are the all-important Channel Numbers for the new additions
Channel NameChannel numberTrue Crime37Legend38PBS America49True Crime Xtra50Legend Xtra51GB News304QVC451QVC 2453
Freeview successor Freely has launched in the UK — a little over five months after the name and logo were initially teased by Everyone TV, the organisation behind Freeview and Freesat backed by the UK’s biggest broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
Hisense was the first brand to add support for Freely across its 2024 lineup of TVs, with the likes of Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, and Metz also switching from Freeview to Freely as the default way to watch free-to-air channels on their newest flatscreens.
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Freeview successor Freely is also the default way to stream live television in select Amazon Fire TVs too.
Freely ditches the traditional TV aerial. Instead, the most popular free-to-air channels are streamed over a wireless or wired internet connection. This is similar to solutions like Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin Media Stream, and the rebooted EE TV launched last year.
Relying on a broadband connection means you’ll be able to position your television anywhere in your house with a decent Wi-Fi signal — not where the aerial comes into the wall. Like the popular Sky+ box, which loses access to Sky TV channels in the coming months, Freely viewers will be able to pause and restart live television.
BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have ensured their catch-up services are deeply integrated into Freely so when you miss the start of a live broadcast you’ll be able to skip back to the beginning — with the show streamed behind-the-scenes from BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and others.
Entire boxsets will be presented in the menu, so you can catch-up on earlier series of a show before tuning into the next live episode. The arrival of Freely doesn’t mean Freeview is going anywhere for now, with Smart TV manufacturers turning to the new arrival to offer access to linear television… we’ll likely to see Freeview and Freesat fall out of favour in the coming months and years.
The industry-wide pivot is something campaigners have warned about, cautioning that millions could be left without access to live television channels.
Everyone TV says the arrival of Freely marks the first time all four of Britain’s public service broadcasters have come together to launch a streaming proposition and signals the beginning of “a journey to secure the future of free TV through collaboration.”
Freely isn’t a software update to your existing Freeview-enabled Smart TV or set-top box. Instead, you’ll need to upgrade to one of a slew of new Smart TVs coming to UK retailers in the coming months.
With the latest update, Freely now offers over 40 live channels through its streaming platform, all accessible without the need for a traditional TV aerial.
The service requires only a Wi-Fi connection with speeds as low as 10Mbps to function effectively.
Outside of live channels, Freely’s on-demand library has grown to an impressive 74,000 hours of content from 11 different free-to-air broadcasters, surpassing major streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.
Catch-up services from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are deeply integrated into Freely’s operating system, enabling you to restart any show with the touch of a button — even if you join the broadcast after it’s started. To enjoy the live and on-demand content on Freely, you’ll need to be covered by a TV Licence.
The on-demand players built into Freely include household names like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and Channel 4, alongside new additions such as WATCH FREE UK from AMC and PBS America’s on-demand app.
The comprehensive lineup represents a significant step forward in free-to-air television, combining traditional broadcasting with modern streaming capabilities to close the gap with paid-for streaming options, like Sky Glass.
AMCNI UK will bring its genre-themed channels including LEGEND, featuring nostalgic and action content, and TRUE CRIME, focused on investigative programming. PBS America will offer content from America’s public broadcasting service, including works from filmmaker Ken Burns and the Frontline current affairs strand.
QVC will contribute two shopping channels — its primary channel, which boasts 16 live hours of retail programming daily, and QVC2, which specialises in Style, Garden and Beauty content. Its on-demand player QVC+ will also be integated. Meanwhile, GB News will provide its lively debates and breaking news coverage on the Freely platform.
All new channels and on-demand content will be available on Freely from early 2025.
Speaking about the new arrivals, Jonathan Thompson, CEO at Everyone TV, said: “These new collaborations mark a significant milestone as Freely continues to redefine the streaming experience, offering something for everyone, with content across a variety of genres.
“From groundbreaking storytelling to rich historical programming and an engaging shopping experience, we are excited to offer an increasingly competitive free viewing experience with these new channels and on demand players. We look forward to continued collaboration across the industry, bringing even more entertaining and engaging content to Freely.”
Everyone TV has teased that more Smart TV manufacturers, operating system providers, and content partners are still to be announced for Freely. So stay tuned.
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With Freely-compatible Smart TVs now available to buy across the UK, and a record-breaking amount of on-demand content available to stream via the platform, we’ve broken down some of the new capabilities and major differences between Freely and Freeview. If you’re thinking about switching to a brand-new Smart TV, chances are, it’s going to be running Freely — so this is what to expect.
MiniGuide
This will be instantly familiar to anyone who has watched telly on Sky or Virgin Media before, but it’s the first time we’ve seen anything like this on a free TV experience.
When switching between live channels, a small pop-up will appear in the bottom of the screen with details about the show you’re currently watching, what’s scheduled to air next, and a button to restart your current programme from the beginning.
If there are multiple episodes from the same show available on-demand from a catch-up service like iPlayer, ITVX or My5, the “Info & Episodes” button in the MiniGuide will let you start scrolling through the back catalogue and jump into another episode.
Browse
Pressing the Freely button on your remote will send you to the Browse menu. This is a central hub that brings together recommended live and on–demand shows from Britain’s biggest broadcasters and free-to-air channels, all in one place.
As you watch more shows — live and on-demand — on your Freely device, the recommendations in the Browse menu will start to improve as it begins to learn your tastes.
TV Guide
This is the part of the Freely interface that will be immediately recognisable to Freeview users. The 7-day guide is designed to provide relevant information at a glance.
Everyone TV says the design of the TV Guide will be consistent across all Freely TVs, so don’t expect telly manufacturers to be able to customise the look at all. Freely TVs will also be required to provide one-touch access via a dedicated Guide button on the remote.
From the TV Guide, you’ll be able to see whether the ability to restart the show from the beginning is available — helping you to decide whether you should jump into a programme now, wait to catch it on a +1 channel, or watch via an on-demand streaming service later.
You’ll also be able to jump into a library of on-demand episodes of shows from the TV Guide.