Everyone TV, the company behind the Freely television platform in the United Kingdom, has announced plans for what it calls Spotlight Channels in the Freely TV Guide for connected television operating system partners. Up to 11 channels will be available for partners. Only one has so far been confirmed as a launch partner.
Freely Spotlight Channels will be allocated on currently vacant channel 31, and on channels 90-99, occupying the current gap between channels 82 and 141. Channel placement will be offered to connected television operating system partners on Freely devices. There will also be a dedicated Showcase Channel at 100, where viewers can see guides on how to use Freely.
V, formerly known as VIDAA, which provides the VIDAA operating system that supports Hisense televisions, has been confirmed as the launch partner and will be the first to bring a selection of their online channels to the Freely guide later in the year.
Everyone TV announced that Freely passed a million weekly users over Christmas. There are about 27.5 million television households in the United Kingdom, with around 6-8 million televisions purchased each year.
Hisense was the first partner for Freely when it launched two years ago. Guy Edri, the co-founder and chief executive of V, described it as “a natural next step in that journey”.
V is projected to rank third among Smart TV operating platforms in Europe by the end of 2026, extending beyond Hisense to other brands.
Freely is available on other brands of television, including Bush, JVC, Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, TCL, and Toshiba.
A number of leading manufacturers, including market leaders Samsung and LG, have declined to join the Freely platform. They have their own offerings of hundreds of online channels on their respective platforms.
Deep Halder, the chief commercial officer at Everyone TV, was previously at Samsung Electronics for over 12 years, where he was latterly responsible for smart televisions in the United Kingdom.
“As Freely continues to scale, we are focused on building a platform that delivers long-term value across the whole ecosystem,” he said. “Enabling CTV OS partner participation in defined parts of the TV guide allows us to deliver unprecedented value to our CTV OS partners in new ways, while staying true to our commitment to UK audiences to ensure free, trusted TV remains easy to discover in the streaming age.”
Everyone TV is jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5. It is responsible for the Freeview, Freesat, and Freely platforms.