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Freely — the successor to Freeview, which launched last summer— has added a pair of brand-new features to Smart TVs across the UK. Dubbed Backwards TV Guide and Never Miss, the new functionality will be rolled out in a free software update coming to the platform later this month. The same software update will also add a feature called My List, which was announced earlier this year, to all Freely-powered flatscreens.
These features are designed to make it easier to find new TV shows, documentaries, and films to watch. The software update coming in May is the first major update to Freely since the arrival of GB News earlier this year.
Here's an overview of the new functionality coming to Freely in the coming weeks:
While the TV Guide has always been the go-to destination for anyone looking to find out what's currently on-air and coming up next on terrestrial channels... scrolling to the left will now let Freely viewers travel backwards up to seven days
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Backwards TV Guide
Scroll left on the TV Guide to time-travel. While the TV Guide has always been the go-to place to check live and upcoming broadcasts, Freely is letting viewers scroll backwards in time to see on-demand shows in the familiar grid layout. This is designed to bridge the gap between live and on-demand, with less searching and switching between apps. Selecting a show will launch the relevant on-demand player.
The new functionality will allow Freely TV viewers to scroll back a full seven days — that's identical to the existing seven-day forward planner built into the platform. According to Freely, this update will ensure a truly comprehensive viewing experience.
Data released by the brand says that 50% of all catch-up or on-demand viewing takes place on the same day as the live broadcast, so Backwards TV Guide looks to be a simple way to quickly navigate to the show you've just missed.
Never Miss is a curated carousel of new television shows, films, and documentaries currently on-air and available on-demand, highlighted at the top of the Freely homepage when you switch on your telly
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Never Miss
This is a new carousel that highlights what's coming up, on now, and what's just missed. Freely says it'll also use the new screen real estate to showcase the biggest and best shows available on demand.
According to the company, the feature will evolve over time, introducing new ways to bring live content to the fore across the Freely interface. Many streamers — like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video — have a similar carousel that cycles through the most talked-about new shows and films on the homepage.
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Fire TV 4-Series arrives with a 4K UHD display with support for standards like HDR10 and Dolby Digital Plus. It supports Freely, enabling UK viewers to stream live TV from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 without an aerial. Built-in apps include Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, YouTube, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, Pluto TV, and Tubi. Everything is powered by Fire TV OS, which supports Alexa voice controls to find shows and films from your favourite actor or director
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Never Miss is Freely's take on this staple. It's also an opportunity to further blur the lines between live broadcasts and on-demand shows, with everything available at the press of a button.
You can add new titles to My List from the listing for each show. When new episodes air, these will be automatically added to the new My list carousel EVERYONE TV PRESS OFFICE My List
My List lets you save up to 50 of your favourite shows from the UK's biggest free-to-air broadcasters — all stored in a single repository. These series can be from any of the 11 different players available on the platform, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, U, and more.
If you've added a series to My List, new episodes will automatically added to the carousel as they become available. Clicking on a title will immediately the relevant streaming app — with no need to keep track of which broadcasters have the rights to your new favourite binge-watch.
The 50 shows included in My List will also be available in a carousel on the homepage of your Freely TV
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Yes, gone are the days of endlessly scrolling through menus to find popular shows like The Traitors, EastEnders, Coronation Street, and Love Island. Add any of these shows to My List once, and you'll be alerted when new episodes direct from the homepage of your Freely TV.
Netflix offers similar functionality, also called My List, although it only collates shows and films from its own platform. Sky Stream and Sky Glass Gen 2 include a feature called Playlist that brings together shows and films from live channels, catch-up services and streamers like Apple TV+, Netflix, Prime Video, and Paramount+, to name a few. Likewise, those with a Fire TV Stick from Amazon can keep tabs on new episodes of their favourite shows from the main menu.
Shop the latest Freely TVs lineup at Currys
If you want to start streaming free-to-air channels and on-demand shows via Freely, you'll need to upgrade to a new Smart TV with support for the next-generation platform. Manufacturers including Hisense, Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, and now Philips ship TVs with Freely baked-in, so there's plenty of choice!
Freely TVs at Currys
Speaking about the new update, Freely Co-Chief Product Officer, Sarah Milton said: "We know viewers love watching live TV and catching up with their favourite programmes soon after broadcast, so we've made it even easier. Our new features-Backwards TV Guide, Never Miss, and My List-make finding, saving, and jumping back into great content effortless, whether live or on demand.
"Freely keeps evolving, offering premium features for free that other streaming platforms don't have. And now with Freely becoming available on a wider range of new mart TVs, even more households will be able to enjoy this enhanced free streaming experience."
The arrival of Backwards TV Guide, Never Miss, and My List aren't the only changes announced by Freely for May 2026. Philips and JVC will be the next Smart TV manufacturers to support Freely as the default way to watch free-to-air channels without an extra set-top box from Freeview Play, Sky Stream, or Virgin TV 360.
Philips Ambilight, JVC, and Titan OS — used to power several other Smart TVs on the market — will now support Freely as the default way to watch free-to-air channels
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Philips' award-winning Ambilight Smart TVs, which include an array of LEDs built into the border to illuminate the wall behind the telly in complemtary colours to whatever is taking place on-screen. New models will be released in May with support for Freely built-in. JVC-branded Smart TVs with Titan OS that leverages Freely to offer access to free-to-air channels will be available in Currys stores across the UK and online this summer.
Paul Slater, Senior Buyer at Currys said: "We're excited to bring Freely to the JVC TV range, giving customers even more flexibility to enjoy the content they love. By adding this free-to-use platform to our affordable JVC range, which is available exclusively at Currys, we're continuing our mission to help everyone enjoy amazing technology."
Hisense was the first brand to add support for Freely across its 2024 lineup of TVs, with the likes of Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, and Metz also switching from Freeview to Freely as the default way to watch free-to-air channels on their newest Smart TVs.
The platform is also available on select Fire TVs as the default way to stream live television.
Built by the same team behind Freesat and Freeview, and backed by the UK's biggest broadcasters, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, Freely is designed to bring modern streaming capabilities to free-to-air television. It beams content via Wi-Fi connection rather than traditional aerial, which means you can place your flatscreen TV anywhere in the room as long as it has a minimum internet speed of 10Mbps.
This is similar to solutions like Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin Media Stream, and the rebooted EE TV launched last year.
Relying on Wi-Fi also enables a number of modern streaming features, like the ability to pause and restart live television shows. With the addition of 16 new streamed channels earlier this year, Freely will offer more than 55 live channels over Wi-Fi, alongside 70,000+ hours of on demand content — more than that provided by any streaming service in the UK. More channels could be added to the service in the coming months.
Freely isn't a software update to your existing Freeview-enabled Smart TV or set-top box. Instead, you'll need to upgrade to one of a swathe of new Smart TVs built from the ground-up to support Freely.
Freely offers quick access to previously-aired episodes of a show, without the need to seek out and launch a specific app — like BBC iPlayer — from the main menu of the service FREELY PRESS OFFICE | GBN LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
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BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have ensured their catch-up services are deeply integrated into Freely so when you miss the start of a live broadcast you'll be able to skip back to the beginning — with the show streamed behind-the-scenes from BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and others.
Entire boxsets will be presented in the menu, so you can catch-up on earlier series of a show before tuning into the next live episode. The arrival of Freely doesn't mean Freeview is going anywhere for now, with Smart TV manufacturers turning to the new arrival to offer access to linear television... we'll likely to see Freeview and Freesat fall out of favour in the coming months and years.
The industry-wide pivot is something campaigners have warned about, cautioning that millions could be left without access to live television channels.
