Everyone TV says that its Freely television platform is expected to be in 10.5 million households in the United Kingdom by 2034. Freely, which launched two years ago, had a million weekly users over Christmas. It is being promoted as the successor to Freeview digital terrestrial television, which is used in about half the households in the country, with about 3.6 million using it exclusively.
Everyone TV cites a forecast from 3 Reasons that suggests the number of homes without internet access is projected to fall to 220,000 by 2034. There are currently about 1.2 million homes in the United Kingdom without an internet connection. Establishment survey data from audience research organisation suggests that 84% of homes have a television connected to the internet.
From this Everyone TV, presumably relying on 3 Reasons forecasts, somehow extrapolates that Freely will be in 10.5 million households in the United Kingdom by 2034. No methodology for the prediction was provided.
That might be credible on the assumption that most televisions sold in the United Kingdom will support the Freely platform. So far, leading manufacturers representing around half the market share of television ownership have declined to adopt the Freely operator application, although they are happy to support the HbbTV standard on which it is based.
In January, Everyone TV proudly announced that it had passed one million weekly users over Christmas, up from half a million in September, and claimed that made Freely the fastest growing platform in the country. However, a million users represent about 3.65% of around 27.5 million television households in the country.
Rob Collier, the head of strategy at 3 Reasons, part of MTM, owned by media, marketing and technology company Brave Bison, said: “Our role at 3 Reasons is to provide robust, well considered and independent forecasts grounded in the best available data, which can be used to inform critical TV infrastructure decisions.”
Everyone TV is a member of the self-styled Future TV Taskforce, which comprises its shareholders, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and 5, together with STV and S4C. It says it supports a carefully planned and managed transition from digital terrestrial television to internet-delivered television. It says its data provides “strong evidence” that this is the right direction of travel.
It may be the direction of travel but the key question is when the destination will be reached. The assumption may be that will be by 2034, but that does not seem so far away now.
Jonathan Thompson, the chief executive of Everyone TV, said: “The way audiences engage with TV is changing and these updated forecasts reflect that clear direction of travel. It is vital that any future change in TV distribution is carefully planned and managed, that issues of connectivity and affordability are addressed, and that no viewer is left behind.”
An independent report on the Future of TV Distribution provided to the government in 2024, to which 3 Reasons contributed, acknowledged that: “There are risks that Freely may not be widely adopted in the UK, not least if the main TV set manufacturers decide not to implement Freely, a UK-only technology, in their products. They may decide to address the mainstream requirements of the European market using DVB-I, waiting for the UK to follow.”
A government announcement on the future of the television distribution is expected to be published soon.