Freely has officially confirmed plans to launch on on ‘plug-in and stream’ devices later this year.
The first manufacturer to be confirmed for the new puck-like devices is Netgem, which also runs its own streaming service that has been adopted by 35 telcos. The agreement with the French platform will enable Freely to run on televisions that do not have the platform built-in, via a simple and affordable plug-in puck.
“Netgem is delighted to introduce the first Freely streaming device to the market with Everyone TV,” said Sylvain Thevenot, Managing Director of Netgem UK. “The integration of Freely with Netgem’s entertainment service positions this streaming puck as the optimal choice for all households and breathes a second life to all TV sets at an affordable price.”
Since April. Freely has integrated with manufacturing partners including Hisense, Bush, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Philips, JVC, TCL, Panasonic, Amazon Fire TV, METZ and most recently Roku Smart TVs.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO, Everyone TV, said: “Freely was created to make free TV work for everyone. Expanding to ‘plug-in and stream’ devices is an important and natural next step to ensure even more homes can enjoy the full Freely experience without the need for a TV upgrade or paid subscription.”
The prospect of a device capable of accessing the Freely service directly was raised by BBC director-general in a speech in May. At the time there was speculation of a streaming stick, but Tim Davie did not directly reference this in his speech.
Backed by the public service broadcasters, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, Freely offers a mix of traditional broadcast channels and their streaming services. Also available are the BBC Studios-backed U suite of channels and PBS America.
