UKTV joins Freely
September 16, 2024
Everyone TV has revealed that its new streaming platform, Freely, gives viewers access to 70,000 hours of on demand content for free, which it says (backed by research from Ampere Analysis) is more than any major SVoD player in the UK.
Freely, which launched in April, enables British audiences to stream live channels and seamlessly browse on demand content from the nation’s main broadcasters – BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 – all in one place, for free. The platform ensures all audiences continue to have easy access to an aggregated free TV experience, however they choose to connect.
It has now been announced that UKTV will bring its on demand service U to Freely this September, alongside streamed live channels U&Dave, U&Drama, U&W and U&Yesterday, adding a variety of popular titles to the platform, including U Originals The Marlow Murder Club, Battle In The Box, Rosie Jones’s Disability Comedy Extravaganza, Katherine Ryan: Parental Guidance, Bangers & Cash (pictured) and Emma Willis: Delivering Babies.
Jonathan Newman, General Manager, Commercial, UKTV, said: “We’re delighted that our free-streaming service U and portfolio of free-to-air channels, recently united under the U Masterbrand, are joining the Freely line-up. It further supports our audience-led strategy, ensuring our viewers can easily access UKTV’s content in a digital world.”
Other titles available on Freely include The Traitors, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Strictly Come Dancing, The Great British Bake Off, Happy Valley, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, and All Creatures Great and Small. Plus, household favourites including Doctor Who, Red Eye, Married at First Sight, and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Viewers can also binge British classics such as Gavin & Stacey, Peep Show, The Inbetweeners, Spooks and Last Tango in Halifax. Viewers can also look forward new shows coming to Freely this autumn, including Alma’s Not Normal, Wallace and Gromit, Mr Loverman, My Mum Your Dad, Playing Nice, Generation Z, Swiped: The School that Banned Mobile Phones, The Madame Blanc Mysteries, The Great Explorers with James May and The Hardacres.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Everyone TV, said: “Freely enables audiences to seamlessly browse and stream a vast library of high-quality content from the UK’s biggest broadcasters, all in one place, but with the added advantage that it’s the same trusted, relevant and reliable programming they have always known. The new platform brings together local, originated programming that champions UK talent and UK stories. It gives viewers access to the best of British TV, with shows that reflect our nation, driving the national conversation and broadening the common investment that all audiences have in our society. At its heart, Freely is about championing access to British content for British audiences. This has only been possible through a major collaboration between the UK’s main public service broadcasters, who are committed to securing the future of free TV in the streaming age.”
Lottie Towler, Principal Analyst, Ampere Analysis, added: “Freely’s extensive catalogue is highly competitive in size when compared with major streamers in the market. Additionally, it offers consumers a unified and simplified experience for accessing broadcaster content, which is increasingly important in a competitive and fragmented market.”