Freely is a free streaming TV platform that delivers live television and on-demand content over your broadband connection. It does not require a TV aerial or satellite dish. Connecting an aerial alongside Freely gives you access to additional channels and a reliable backup if your internet drops. Therefore most households still benefit from keeping one.
We’ve had a steady stream of customers asking us about Freely over the past year. Some want to know whether they can take their aerial down. Others have just bought a new TV and noticed Freely mentioned on the packaging. A few have already disconnected their aerial, only to realise they’re missing channels they used to get.
The answer isn’t as straightforward as the marketing suggests. We’ve put together this guide based on what we’re seeing and hearing from customers across Bath and the South West.
How Freely works
Freely is run by Everyone TV, the same organisation behind Freeview and Freesat. It launched in April 2024 as an internet-based alternative to traditional aerial TV, and it’s growing quickly. Freely passed 500,000 weekly active devices earlier this year.
Instead of picking up broadcast signals through an aerial, Freely streams live TV channels over your home broadband. You need a minimum download speed of 10 Mbps, we’d recommend more if several people in your household are online at the same time. A wired ethernet connection to your TV will always be more stable than Wi-Fi, particularly for live viewing where buffering is noticeable.
The experience feels closer to a paid service like Sky than traditional Freeview. You get a unified programme guide with proper channel numbers. The ability to pause and restart live TV. And a backwards-scrolling guide that lets you access catch-up content without opening each app separately. There’s no subscription fee and no contract.
As of early 2026, Freely carries over 70 live channels and more than 75,000 hours of on-demand content. New channels are being added regularly, and further additions are expected throughout the year.
How to get Freely
Freely is built into a growing number of new smart TVs, but not all of them. Some of the most popular TV manufacturers in the UK still don’t support it. If you’re considering a new television and Freely matters to you, it’s worth checking compatibility before you buy. Our TV buying guide covers what to look for when choosing a new set.
For anyone with an existing TV that doesn’t have Freely built in, standalone streaming boxes are now available. We stock the Manhattan Aero 4K TV Streamer in our shop – a compact device that plugs into any TV with an HDMI port and connects to Freely over your broadband. It’s been incredibly popular since launch and stock has been limited across all retailers.
There are also other standalone devices on the market, including options with built-in Freeview recorders for anyone who wants both Freely and the ability to record broadcast television. Worth noting: most standalone Freely devices don’t include an aerial port, so they’re streaming-only. If the hybrid setup matters to you (more on that below), check what connectivity the device offers before purchasing.
What you get with Freely alone
With just Freely and a broadband connection, you get all the main channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, plus their associated services – the +1 channels, news channels, and so on. You also get a growing number of additional free channels that are exclusive to Freely and not available through a traditional aerial.
Over 35 of these channels are available in HD. That’s a step up from standard Freeview, which only broadcasts around 9 channels in high definition. On a modern large-screen television, the difference in picture quality between HD and standard definition is very noticeable.
The on-demand library is substantial too. Freely provides integrated access to catch-up content from all four main broadcasters, and the backwards-scrolling programme guide makes it easy to find something you missed.
For plenty of households, particularly those who mainly watch the big channels and use paid streaming services for everything else, Freely on its own may well be enough.
What you’re missing without an aerial
This is the part that catches people out.
The channel count is growing, but it doesn’t yet match the full Freeview lineup. A number of smaller channels, niche services and regional content are still only available through a traditional aerial broadcast. If you’re used to flicking through the full Freeview guide and stumbling across something unexpected, you’ll notice gaps.
There’s also a category of content called hybrid streaming channels – services that technically stream over the internet but need an aerial signal to trigger the app that loads them. Without an aerial connected, these channels simply don’t appear in your guide. Freely has pushed them further down the channel list, and the platform seems to be gradually moving away from this hybrid model, but for now an aerial unlocks content that broadband alone doesn’t.
Connecting via Wi-Fi and plugging in an aerial gives you a wider range of channels than Wi-Fi alone.
Then there’s the reliability question. Freely depends entirely on your broadband and your home network. If your internet goes down – whether that’s a provider outage, a router problem, or Wi-Fi congestion from too many devices – your live TV goes with it. With an aerial, broadcast television keeps working regardless. We’ve written separately about how smart TVs work without internet if you want to understand what stays available when your broadband drops.
We’ve seen this play out with customers more than once. Everything works perfectly for weeks, then their broadband drops on a Saturday evening and there’s no television at all. For some people that’s a minor inconvenience. For others – particularly those who rely on their TV as a primary source of news and entertainment – it’s a real problem.
The hybrid setup: why we recommend keeping your aerial
For most households, the best setup is a hybrid one. Freely handles the smart features, the on-demand content, the HD channels and the modern programme guide. The aerial provides the full broadcast channel range, the reliability fallback, and access to those hybrid streaming services that still depend on a terrestrial signal.
This is how Freely-compatible smart TVs are designed to work. They still include a built-in Freeview tuner alongside Freely. The manufacturers know that one source alone doesn’t cover everything yet.
If you already have a working aerial, there’s very little reason to disconnect it. Keeping it connected costs nothing and gives you wider channel selection plus a safety net. And if your existing aerial is old, damaged or poorly positioned, getting it repaired or replaced is a far better investment than removing it entirely.
We’ve covered the broader question of whether a smart TV needs an aerial in a separate guide, and our article on getting Freeview without an aerial explains the alternatives in more detail.
When you might not need an aerial
There are situations where going aerial-free makes sense. If you’re in rented accommodation where you can’t install an external aerial, Freely with a streaming device is a solid alternative. If you’re setting up a TV in a room without an aerial socket – a kitchen, bedroom, garden room or home office – Freely means you can watch live television anywhere you’ve got Wi-Fi and a power socket.
For new-build properties where no aerial system has been installed, Freely removes the immediate pressure to get one fitted before you can watch TV. You can get set up straight away and decide later whether you want a full aerial installation.
And if you only watch BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 content alongside paid streaming services, and your broadband is fast and reliable, Freely on its own may give you everything you need.
Considerations for Bath and the South West
We install aerials and TV systems across Bath and the South West, and this area has some specific factors worth thinking about.
For listed properties where an external aerial genuinely isn’t practical, Freely removes the need for any external hardware entirely. That’s a meaningful advantage in conservation areas.
Signal strength from the local transmitters serving Bath is generally good, though there are pockets – particularly in valleys and behind hills – where reception can be weaker. If your current aerial is struggling, it may simply need repositioning, upgrading or replacing rather than abandoning. Our team can assess this during a free home visit. For a wider comparison of what’s available through aerial versus satellite in this area, our Freesat vs Freeview guide is worth a read.
For rural properties across the South West where traditional broadband is slow or unreliable, Freely might seem out of reach. We install Starlink satellite broadband for customers in areas where conventional connections can’t deliver the speeds needed for live TV streaming. It’s a combination that works surprisingly well: Starlink provides the broadband, Freely delivers the television, and an aerial rounds out the setup for complete coverage.
Our recommendation
We’ve been installing and advising on TV systems in Bath since 1962. We’ve seen formats come and go – analogue to digital, terrestrial to satellite, standard definition to 4K. Freely is a step forward for free-to-air television, and we expect it to become the primary platform for most UK households within the next few years.
But we’re not at the point where an aerial is redundant. The channel selection on Freely is still catching up with what broadcast Freeview offers. Broadband reliability varies from house to house. And for multi-room setups – where you might have televisions in several rooms, not all with strong Wi-Fi coverage – an aerial distribution system often provides a simpler, more dependable solution.
Our advice: if you have a working aerial, keep it. Buying a new TV? Check whether it supports Freely so you have both options. Setting up a room where there’s no aerial socket and running cable isn’t practical? A Freely streaming device is a smart choice – and we can help you get set up.
If you’re unsure what you need – whether that’s a new aerial installation, an upgrade to your existing system, help choosing a Freely-compatible TV, or advice on the right setup for a tricky property – we’re here to help. Our engineers carry out free on-site surveys across Bath and the South West, and we’ll recommend what actually makes sense for your home, your viewing habits and your property.To arrange a free home visit and no-obligation quotation, call us on 01225 331441 or get in touch through our website.
