Freely - will this impact Glass and Sky Stream

[Jason+Golding]

Interesting to see that the group of main terrestrial broadcasters that own Freeview and Freesat are launching the next generation service next year called 'freely' all of the current Freeview/Freesat channels will broadcast on Freely plus many more.  

It Will be really interesting to see how this affect glass/stream - I suspect that many pay broadcasts will be integrated in the EPG, even channels such as Sky sports/cinema may be.

The eventual idea will be at some point in the long future to turn off all terrestrial transmitters and for the uk to go IPTV only through Freely. Important to state that current TV's will not be ' Freely' compatible and only next gen TV's will be, but it will be the common standard. For most people will mean, no extra box, dish or aerial and just a tv connected to your internet. Certainly a competitor to Sky glass - depending on content 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Jason+Golding wrote:

I suspect that many pay broadcasts will be integrated in the EPG, even channels such as Sky sports/cinema may be.

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Freely is specifically public service and free-to-air channels: there's no indication that subscription content will be distributed that way, and I can't imagine why Sky would wish to dilute their brand name prestige to do so.

https://www.tvzoneuk.com/post/freely 

[Jason+Golding]

@TimmyBGood @There isn't any indication that there will not be pay tv channels either. 'Terrestrial tv' has had pay tv channels before - look at the ITV Digital/On Digital service, I would be shocked if there were not pay tv options within Freely. Sky already water down their pay tv offering with sister brand NOW Tv. They even allow the NOW tv  channels  to be broadcast on a linear basis within the BT TV service. They also allow linear carriage via Virgin media - what's the difference ?

[TimmyBGood]

@Jason+Golding 

Mostly because I seriously doubt people will pay Sky prices for output on such a service: as you said, it's intended to be the replacement for Freeview if government claws back spectrum and Freesat if the orbiting platforms aren't replaced.  I also suspect the UK PSBs themselves aren't likely to want the muscle of Sky inevitably distorting 'their' platform (given Comcast is an order of magnitude bigger than all the UK broadcasters added together) 

[Jason+Golding]

Surely it would appeal to NOW Tv customers - hence the reason the NOW Tv app is available within Freeview 

[TimmyBGood]

@Jason+Golding 

Anyway, the name wouldn't make sense if subscription services were carried on it ; )

'Costly' would be a different product...

[TimmyBGood]

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@Jason+Golding wrote:

hence the reason the NOW Tv app is available within Freeview 

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A NowTV app is installed on internet-capable Freesat-branded DTTV boxes: that's not the same thing as being 'within Freeview'. 

There would smart toasters with a NowTV app if they could stop the screens melting.

[Jason+Golding]

Freesat and Freeview are the same company.(Everyone TV) owned by the BBC, ITV, CH4, 5

 Now Tv app is available with both. If Sky allow BT to integrate NOW Tv sky channels on their EPG, why not Freely? Only time will tell 

[Jason+Golding]

@TimmyBGood https://www.freeview.co.uk/now

[Jason+Golding]

Why does Freeview currently promote pay channels now then, such as now Tv ?

https://www.freeview.co.uk/now

[TimmyBGood]

@Jason+Golding 

Having branded hardware hosting an external app is very different to data carriage for content within an app.

As you say, time will tell.  Personally I suspect it's the last gasp of the PSBs to appear relevant as their audience dies out, both figuratively and literally.

[Doc5907]

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@Jason+Golding wrote:

Freesat and Freeview are the same company.(Everyone TV) owned by the BBC, ITV, CH4, 5

 Now Tv app is available with both. If Sky allow BT to integrate NOW Tv sky channels on their EPG, why not Freely? Only time will tell 

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Never going to happen !

[Jason+Golding]

@Doc5907 @Wouldn't be sure. Now Tv was formed post the failed ' Picnic' project. The idea of Picnic was a colloboration by sky and Freeview to have pay channels integrated in the EPG 

[Exiled-in-HH]

BT can integrate NOW TV into their YouView service because it is a pay service?

[Exiled-in-HH]

Picnic was never a collaboration between Sky and Freeview... Sky wanted to use their DTT capacity to supply a pay service on a Sky branded box!