Viewers with a brand new smart TV can also benefit from this month’s new Freeview channel launches, including U&Eden on Freely.
- New smart TVs from manufacturers including Bush, Hisense and Panasonic now include Freely instead of Freeview.
- If you plug in an aerial, you’ll get access to Freeview channels, including this month’s new launches.
- Channel numbers are vastly different on Freely and are not commonly advertised by broadcasters or listing magazines.
Anyone who has recently bought a new smart TV may find their TV channels are in a different order than they’re used to.
Freely, backed by all UK public broadcasters, is being pre-installed on a growing number of TV sets, including new 2024 range Hisense and Panasonic TVs. Freely is designed to enable viewers to stream linear TV channels via the internet instead of via an aerial or a dish. But viewers who do connect their new smart TV to their aerial also benefit from the latest Freeview channel changes.
Freely has confirmed that viewers who use an aerial can access the four new Freeview channels, which were added earlier on Wednesday. This includes U&Eden, the UKTV-owned channel that was previously only available on Sky and Virgin, but joined free TV platforms this week.
New channels added far down the channel list
However, you’ll need to dig deep down the Freely channel list to find the new channels. On a Freely-enabled smart TV, U&Eden is found on Freely channel 151, nearly 100 slots behind the back of the main block of entertainment channels.
New services on Freely TVs (via an aerial)
If your TV supports Freely, you may need to perform a channel rescan to gain access to these new channels.
- U&Eden channel 151 [Factual entertainment]
- CNA channel 579 [News and current affairs]
- New Media TV channel 573 [Religious]
- GIGS channel 590 [Music]
- That’s Christmas channel 46 [Seasonal entertainment, replaces That’s TV 3]
Availability of these channels is subject to local Freeview coverage. U&Eden and That’s Christmas have 98.5% UK household coverage. CNA and GIGS have 90% coverage. The signal that carries New Media TV reaches around two thirds of UK households.
Confusingly for new smart TV owners, Freely channel numbers aren’t currently widely publicised by either broadcasters or listings magazines.
And if your Freely smart TV gets disconnected from the internet, or the Freely app fails on your TV, your TV may revert back to the normal Freeview channel numbering system.
U&Eden aerial-only at the moment
Last month, broadcaster UKTV added its other free-to-air channels, including U&Dave and U&Drama to Freely’s internet-based TV service. This means you can watch those channels via wi-fi/ethernet, without needing an aerial connection.
However, unlike other UKTV channels, Freely says that U&Eden is currently only available to viewers who use an aerial. That is likely to continue until U&Eden can be fully integrated on streaming and catch-up TV service U.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: Composite / UKTV / Everyone TV