Freeview’s Explore Freeview Play smart TV application has been given a major refresh, with expanded recommendations based on your viewing habits, an additional box sets section and a fresh lick of paint that brings imagery to the fore.
While Sky has won all of the plaudits recently for its cutting edge Sky Q service and Sky Glass TVs, Freeview is hitting back with a major upgrade that promises to make it much easier to watch the countless shows it offers. The free-to-watch service is updating the Explore Freeview Play app with a dedicated box sets section that puts all of the most bingeable content it offers in one handy place, saving you the trouble of scrolling through tons of boring soaps to find something you actually want to watch.
Freeview said its most popular box sets include the likes of Pose, Ackley Bridge, Everything I Know About Love, The Good Wife, The Undeclared War, The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, Task Master, Big Zuu’s Big Eats, Witness Number 3 and Pretty Little Liars.
Just as cool are the recommendations. This is something Sky has offered for a long time through its Sky Q box, so it’s nice to see the same kind of personalisation coming to Freeview. As Freeview explained, the upgrade makes it easier to find things to watch through both its new Search and Recommendation tools. With these, viewers can access content more easily by navigating through a carousel of hand-picked recommendations, with a choice of genres to browse through, including Comedy, Drama, Soaps, Entertainment and Movies all made easier to find. Added to that, users will be able to curate their own watchlists through the My Shows feature.
Viewers may also appreciate the revamped design. Freeview is getting a more Sky-like feel to its user interface, with a darker background and imagery that appears more prominent than before. The screenshots supplied by Freeview certainly suggest that it will be more aesthetically pleasing than before.
Freeview Play Marketing Director Owen Jenkinson said the broadcaster is continually evolving and always adding new free features to try and provide better value to consumers. “With the Women’s Euro and Love Island Final just days away, millions of us will soon be searching for our next TV obsession and these latest updates to Freeview Play will be on hand to help,” he promised.
The updates will certainly be seen by plenty of viewers. Freeview Play said that since launching in 2025, it has now grown to more than 11 million users. The service is integrated with most new TVs sold in the U.K., including all new LG Electronics, Sony, Panasonic and Hisense models. It’s also available on all Android TV, Humax and Amazon Fire set-top boxes and streaming sticks. In addition, those using an aerial can access the service via channel 100.
To date, Freeview Play has grown to encompass more than 40,000 hours of free-to-watch and on-demand content from major U.K. channels including the BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5, with additional content from UKTV Play, CBS Catchup Channels UK, Legend and POP Player, to name just a few.
