Killing Freeview 'forces the whole population to pay for broadband,' blasts campaigner ahead of TV deadline

Without an intervention from the UK Government, traditional over-the-air television broadcasts will only be guaranteed until 2034. For free-to-air broadcasts to continue beyond the current 2034 deadline, the UK Government will need to extend multiplex licences to allow television channels to leverage the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform, more commonly known as Freeview, to broadcast over the airwaves nationwide.

Regulator Ofcom is reviewing whether this cut-off date should be extended.

Freeview is currently the most-watched television platform in the UK, with 9.7 million UK households able to tune-in via their main TV. However, that doesn't mean these homes are entirely reliant on aerial broadcasts, with 73% of these homes also watching shows and movies over a broadband connection, including catch-up services like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, and streamers such as Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, and Netflix.

Earlier this month, Everyone TV — the organisation behind Freeview, Freesat, and its broadband-powered successor Freely — published fresh forecasts from specialist television analysts 3 Reasons that suggests millions of Britons will switch to Freely in the coming years. Freely is already watched by over 1 million people across the UK, having doubled its growth from 500,000 viewers in roughly three months between September and December 2025.

According to 3 Reasons, Freely will be in 10.5 million UK households by 2034. For proponents of broadband-powered television broadcasts, this is evidence that Freeview can be retired with minimal disruption by the mid-2030s.

However, Silver Voices campaigners claim switching off Freeview masts will leave millions of Britons — primarily the elderly and most vulnerable in society — without access to terrestrial television.

The decision to halt Freeview broadcasts would be controversial even for households with a decent broadband connection. That's because, aside from the £180 annual TV licence fee, there isn't a cost to connect to an aerial and watch linear television – the method of delivering these channels to your television is free of charge.

Likewise, if you own a satellite dish, Freesat lets you watch dozens of free-to-air channels at no cost. However, that isn't the case for broadband-based television, which requires an internet connection in your home.

You'll need a minimum speed of 10Mbps to watch via Freely, with most broadband companies charging between £10 – £15 a month for those speeds. While that might seem reasonable, these costs add up over time – adding a £120 bill via Direct Debit that might've otherwise been unnecessary for those who don't already require internet at home.

Silver Voices Director Dennis Reed told GB News: "The figures produced by those with a vested interest in an early transition to digital-only TV are wildly exaggerated, a wing and a prayer rather than solid evidence.

"The facts are that 1.3 million homes have no broadband at all, and nearly 5 million do not have an internet-connected TV. Most of these households consist of older people, or those on breadline incomes, and to suggest that the number of these will be brought down to 220,000 by 2034 is cloud cuckoo land.

"Proponents of IPTV are trying to gaslight the Government into thinking that it will be a minor political problem to force the whole population to pay for broadband in order to watch TV."

Freely isn't a software update to be installed on your existing Freeview-enabled Smart TV or set-top box. It's an entirely new platform built from the ground up for broadband-powered broadcasts. To start watching on Freely, you'll need to upgrade to one of a swathe of new Smart TVs built from the ground up to support Freely, or one of two set-top boxes that allow you to plug-in Freely to any television via the HDMI port.

Streaming live television via Wi-Fi or a wired internet connection means you're no longer tethered to your nearest aerial socket, so you'll be able to place your Smart TV anywhere in the house.

It also means broadcasts won't be disrupted by bad weather across the UK, something that can happen during periods of high pressure.

Since it relies on Wi-Fi, Freely boasts several features that were previously only available on paid-for boxes, like Sky Glass, including the ability to pause or restart live television. It also tightly integrates with on-demand boxsets, so you can quickly jump to an earlier episode of a show from the TV Guide when checking the upcoming listings.

Broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, have backed a transition to internet-based telly, stating that it costs them vast sums to maintain broadcast signals used by a declining number of people.

The BBC has teased plans to build its own Roku or Fire TV Stick competitor to make streaming more accessible to UK households.

The exact number of households who only watch free-to-air television via rooftop or indoor aerials, known as Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), sits at 2.6 million, BARB data shows.

According to research from 3 Reasons, that is predicted to plummet to 860,000 households by 2034.

At the same time, the number of homes without broadband is projected to fall to 220,000 by 2034, which equates to 0.8% of TV households. This forecast comes as 3 Reasons researchers found that, rather than falling a predicted 10% between 2023 and 2025, the number of homes without broadband fell 30% and stands at 1.2 million today.

Chief Executive of Everyone TV, the organisation behind Freesat, Freeview, and Freely, Jonathan Thompson commented on the new forecasts from 3 Reasons: "The way audiences engage with TV is changing and these updated forecasts reflect that clear direction of travel. It is vital that any future change in TV distribution is carefully planned and managed, that issues of connectivity and affordability are addressed, and that no viewer is left behind.

"Freely provides simple, trusted access to live, linear channels and on-demand content from our public service broadcasters and combines this with innovation that can benefit all audiences. It can be a gateway for people to safely and easily enter into an increasingly digital society and not be excluded.”

Rob Collier of 3 Reasons commented: "In a debate this important, we need to approach the issue as objectively as possible. Our role at 3 Reasons is to provide robust, well-considered and independent forecasts grounded in the best available data, which can be used to inform critical TV infrastructure decisions."

There's no set deadline for the latest UK Government review, but the last time the DTT licences were up for renewal, the consultation ended in February 2021 ahead of an early 2022 deadline. In other words — we're unlikely to find out the outcome for a few years.

Ofcom published a report called Future of TV Distribution back in May 2024.

One of the findings was that Britons now spend less time watching broadcast television via DTT, leading to broadcasters voicing concerns that "declining viewership on broadcast platforms over the next 10-15 years will create a tipping point at which the cost of distributing via DTT and satellite will exceed the benefits generated from being on those platforms."

The UK regulator highlighted that investment in a more efficient DTT service would be needed to continue broadcasts via Freeview alongside a gradual transition to streaming for free-to-air channels in the 2030s.

The industry is already pivoting towards a streaming-only future in the UK.

As well as major changes to BBC iPlayer, rival Channel 4 has shuttered five of its Freeview channels and told staff to consider streaming before approving any new commissions.

ITV has overhauled its broadcast business in a race to meet its target of 2.5 million ITVX Premium subscribers by 2026. The Netflix rival offers exclusive boxsets, early access to some of its biggest dramas, downloads for offline viewing on flights or abroad, and the ability to skip adverts for £5.99 per month.

But the biggest push towards an internet-only television arrived from Everyone TV back in 2024. Dubbed Freely, this is a joint effort between the UK's biggest broadcasters ― the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 ― to replicate the experience of watching Freeview and Freesat with just a Wi-Fi connection. Live free-to-air channels are streamed over broadband, so there’s no need to connect your TV to an aerial, meaning it can positioned anywhere in the home.

GB News was added to the service as part of a major update last year.

If Downing Street decides to move ahead with the transition away from traditional broadcasts, it wouldn't be the first time the UK has seen a major shake-up to its television landscape.

The transition from analogue to digital broadcasts — more commonly known as Digital Switchover — took place nationwide between 2007 and 2012. It replaced analogue boradcasts with digital transmissions, improving picture and sound quality, while bolstering channel choice and freeing up spectrum to be repurposed for 5G mobile data.

The staggered roll-out took place region by region, kickstarting in Whitehaven, in Cumbria, and finishing up in Northern Ireland and London. Households had to switch to Digital TVs — marketed as "HD Ready" — or set-top boxes to continue to receive broadcasts.

Satellite broadcasts are also slowly being phased out, with Sky no longer offering its Sky Q set-top box — the last to require a satellite dish affixed to the outside of your home — to new customers via its online store. Both of its flagship products, Sky Glass and Sky Stream, both rely on an internet connection to offer access to live channels.