E-gaming channel GINX and extreme sports channel Extreme have relaunched on Freeview via the Channelbox streaming portal, having given up their standalone slots.
- GINX and Extreme Channel had abruptly stopped broadcasting via their previous standalone slots without notice.
Weeks after abruptly leaving Freeview without explanation, gaming channel GINX TV has now confirmed its renewed availability on the platform via streaming portal Channelbox.
Channelbox, which operates on channel 271, provides a portal offering range of free-to-view channels on connected Freeview devices. Freely TVs can access the portal on channel 561.
GINX originally operated as a standalone service on Freeview channel 282. It had first appeared on the Freeview channel list last July. The channel’s CEO Peter Einstein said GINX was “excited” to bring the service back to Freeview.
Extreme abandoning standalone Freeview streaming channel
Meanwhile, Extreme Channel, which launched on Freeview a month earlier, in June 2024, has also confirmed it’s also moved to Channelbox. This explains why the service hasn’t been available on its previous standalone slot on channel 281 in recent days.
The channel, which for many years broadcast on Sky in the UK, was without a regular UK broadcast platform slot for nearly a decade until it returned to Freeview.
Extreme Channel originally appeared on Freeview channel 295 last year, before later moving to channel 281. As a result of the relaunch on Channelbox, it’s expected that channel 281 will be vacated in a future Freeview channel update.
However, at the time of publication, the Extreme Channel’s website wrongly suggests the new Freeview service on channel 271 is available in the “UK and Scandinavia”. Freeview is a UK-platform.
Extreme Channel offers viewers a broad spectrum of exclusive programming across extreme sports and lifestyle, from competitive winter sports to surfing, underwater and marine life exploration to MMA and professional wrestling.
The move to Channelbox may actually mean the channels reach more viewers. Tests by RXTV across a number of devices indicated the former GINX and Extreme Sports standalone services struggled to load on some devices. In comparison, Channelbox appears to be compatible with a much wider range of connected Freeview devices.
By: Marc Thornham | image: Extreme Channel