Freeview is celebrating this week after having hit a major milestone, with more than 10 million U.K. households now regularly tuning in to its live and catchup TV offerings.
The company said that by reaching the latest milestone it has cemented its position as the U.K.’s fastest-growing TV platform, and that’s hard to argue with given it only launched six years ago in 2015.
For those who’re unaware of Freeview Play, the platform offers free access to an array of content from on-demand services such as the BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and All4 from a single portal. In total it has more than 30,000 hours of free content accessible on-demand, in addition to more than 80 live TV channels. In other words, it has lots of stuff to watch.
The fact it’s all available entirely free probably explains why it has been able to grow so fast, in spite of competition from an array of streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, as well as traditional satellite providers like Sky, BT and Virgin.
Freeview Play’s popularity can also be explained by its widespread availability, as the service is nowadays directly integrated with a growing number of new televisions from brands including LG Electronics, Hisense, Philips and Panasonic, as well as Android TVs sold by the likes of Sharp and TCL. Indeed, for many people buying a new TV, the availability of content is a key consideration, and knowing that their purchase will bring them access to all Freeview Play has to offer is likely a factor in many people’s decisions on which TV to buy.
For those who can’t get the service through their TV, the option to purchase a set-top box such as the Humax AURA also exists.
Freeview is celebrating the 10 million viewer milestone with the launch of a new advertising campaign (see below) that’s designed to win over its next ten hundred thousand viewers. The new ad features two “hilarious” alien characters voiced by Flebag’s Jamie Demetriou and Sex Education start Samantha Spiro and starts running this week across both live TV, on-demand apps ITV Hub and All4, as well as YouTube and Facebook.
Freeview Play Marketing Director Owen Jenkinson said the platform’s incredible growth reflects the “incredible content” it offers.
“There has ever been more choice in subscription-based streaming platforms and yet it’s clear that Freeview still offers something unique for viewers,” he said. “Freeview Play gives viewers the flexibility to get the most out of both worlds, all at no extra cost."
With frequent updates adding more functionality to the Freeview Play menu, and the platform’s ongoing addition of more free content, the service looks set to be a major player in the U.K.’s TV platform wars for some time to come.
