Almost a month after the first Freely TVs from Hisense went on sale, users of the fledgling platform receive their first channel update.
- Affects users who use a TV aerial to top-up on channels.
The Freely channel list saw its first update since launching last month.
Freely was launched as the UK public broadcaster’s next generation TV platform that ultimately aims to replace Freeview and Freesat.
The changes were linked to today’s removals on the terrestrial TV platform (Freeview) for Freely users who top-up their channels by connecting their TV to an aerial.
Currently, Freely offers two versions of its channel list depending on whether you are connected only to the internet or an aerial.
Freely describes plugging in a TV aerial as a way of “topping up” channels. That’s because there are reletively few channels available via internet only.
For viewers “topping up” their channel list via an aerial, the following changes have been made:
| Channel number | Name | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | TCC | Removed, except Manchester |
| 461 | Shop On TV | No longer listed in Wales. |
| 462 | Seen On TV | New, Manchester only. |
| 553 | Fail Army/Pet Collective | Removed |
Additionally, Absolute Radio was removed from the digital terrestrial TV network today. However, in anticipation of its imminent removal, the channel was never added to Freely’s channel list when the platform launched at the end of April.
The good news is that Freely receivers are designed to handle most channel updates automatically, so viewers shouldn’t need to take action to update their channel list.