BBC iPlayer, Freeview Play and Freetime discontinuation on selected 2015 and 2016 Panasonic televisions
Written by Annie Moss, Moss of Bath. Published: 12/08/2026 Last updated: 12/08/2026.
Quick answer
If BBC iPlayer has stopped working on your Panasonic TV, or you have seen a warning message when you open it, your television is probably one of the 2015 and 2016 models the BBC is withdrawing support from. Panasonic has confirmed the change in a support notice. The app stops working at the end of October. Your television is not faulty.
Why can’t I get iPlayer on my Panasonic TV?
There are four separate reasons a Panasonic set loses iPlayer. Working out which one applies to you takes about two minutes and decides whether you need to spend anything at all.
- Your model is on the BBC’s withdrawal list. Twelve series of 2015 and 2016 Viera televisions lose iPlayer at the end of October. nt The model list is below.
- You have unticked the privacy or Terms of Service agreement. On several Panasonic sets iPlayer opens to a black screen or hangs on the splash logo until you re-accept the terms in the network menu. This looks identical to a dead app and is fixed in thirty seconds.
- You lost apps years ago, not this month. Panasonic’s Freetime sets from 2014 to 2016 lost ITV Hub and All 4 back in 2018, when the broadcasters pulled their apps from that platform. Owners of the CS500 and CS520 series have been living with a half-working On Demand screen ever since.
- Your broadband or the television’s network settings have dropped out. Rare, but it costs nothing to rule out.
Check the second one before anything else. A slice of the people reading this page have a working television and a settings problem.
Check this first: the Terms of Service fix
On some Panasonic televisions, a firmware update leaves the privacy agreement in a state where iPlayer will launch and then die at a black screen. Every other app carries on working normally, which is what makes it so confusing.
Go to Settings > Network > Terms of Service and accept the agreement, even if it already appears to be ticked. Then relaunch iPlayer.
If that brings it back, you are done, and your set is not affected by the October withdrawal. If it changes nothing, check your model below.
That distinction matters. We have had customers ready to replace a perfectly good television over a setting. If you would rather someone checked it for you, that is what our service department is there for.
Which Panasonic TVs are affected?
Panasonic’s support notice lists the following series. The xx in each model number is the screen size, so a TX-40DX700B is covered by the entry TX-xxDX700B.
2015 models
| Series | Also sold as |
| TX-xxCX802B | TX-xxCR852B |
| TX-xxCX700B | TX-xxCR730B |
| TX-xxCX680B | — |
2016 models
| Series | Also sold as |
| TX-xxDX902B | — |
| TX-xxDX802B | TX-xxDR852B |
| TX-xxDX750B | — |
| TX-xxDX700B | — |
| TX-xxDX680B | — |
| TX-xxDX650B | — |
| TX-xxDX600B | — |
| TX-xxD500B (see note) | — |
| TX-xxDS400B | — |
Your model number is on a sticker on the back of the television, and usually also under Settings > System > System Information. The CR and DR numbers are the curved-screen versions of the same sets.
A note on TX-xxD500B. Panasonic’s notice gives this series as “D500B”, but the televisions Panasonic actually sold were the DS500B range, including the TX-32DS500B and TX-40DS500B. We read this as a typographical error rather than a separate product line, so if you own a DS500B we would expect you to be affected. We have asked Panasonic to confirm and will update this page when they reply.
If your model is not listed, you are not necessarily safe. Some older Panasonic sets lost catch-up apps long before this round. The 2014 to 2016 Freetime models, including the CS500 and CS520 series, lost ITV Hub and All 4 in 2018 and were never given Freeview Play.
What happens, and when
Panasonic gives two dates.
End of July. Opening iPlayer brings up a notification telling you the service is ending. The app still works. You can dismiss the message and carry on watching.
End of October. The app stops. Launching it shows a termination message instead of the service.
Panasonic’s notice does not print the year against either date. The notifications began appearing on sets in July 2026, which places the shutdown at the end of October 2026.
Is my television broken?
No. Panasonic is explicit that this is not a product fault and not a repair issue, and there is no firmware update that will reverse it.
Worth saying plainly, because the failure looks like a fault. An app that worked yesterday shows an error today, on a television that is otherwise perfect. The panel, the tuner, the HDMI inputs and the picture are all unaffected.
Why is the BBC doing this?
iPlayer runs only on hardware the BBC has certified. Manufacturers submit devices for testing, and the BBC checks that playback works properly, that security standards are met, and that the experience is consistent. When a set falls outside what the current app needs, the BBC withdraws it rather than maintaining an old build for it.
The BBC is managing the change and on-screen notifications come directly from the BBC; customers should follow the BBC’s guidance. Panasonic is not the party making the decision and cannot undo it.
This is not unique to Panasonic. Samsung sets from 2010 and 2011 lost the BBC apps in October 2017, and the same certification logic has removed iPlayer from Sony Blu-ray players, older Humax recorders and a long list of streaming boxes since.
What about Freeview Play and Freetime?
This is the part of the notice that needs care.
Panasonic’s headline says the BBC is discontinuing “BBC iPlayer, Freeview Play, and Freetime” on these models. Freeview Play and Freetime are not BBC services. Both are run by Everyone TV, the organisation jointly owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and Freetime began as Freesat’s on-demand platform before Panasonic built it into Viera sets in 2014.
What the notice does not say is how much of those platforms stop working. The BBC withdrawing iPlayer from the device is one thing. Whether the seven-day scroll-back guide keeps functioning, and whether ITVX, Channel 4 and My5 survive on the same sets, is not addressed anywhere in Panasonic’s notice or the BBC’s.
We are not going to guess. We will update when we have more information.
Your options
For a lot of people the right answer is a streaming stick. For others the honest answer is that a decade-old television has reached the end of its useful life. Which one you are depends less on the October deadline than on what you actually own.
The cheap fix: a streaming stick or box
An Amazon Fire TV Stick or a Roku plugs into a spare HDMI socket and restores iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, Netflix and the rest. Your television carries on doing what it does.
There are two things worth knowing before you commit.
It means a second remote. For some households that is a minor irritation. For others, particularly older viewers, it is the difference between watching television and giving up. Most Panasonic sets support HDMI-CEC, which Panasonic calls VIERA Link, so the television can switch inputs automatically and one remote can handle the volume. It needs enabling in the menus and it does not always behave. A universal remote is the other route.
You may not be able to reach the HDMI port. This catches people out in Bath more than most places. If the set is wall-mounted in a Georgian or listed property with the cables chased into the wall, there may be no accessible socket to plug a stick into, and no slack to pull the television forward. A low-profile HDMI adaptor sometimes solves it. Sometimes the set has to come off the wall. Worth checking before you order anything, and something our installation team deals with regularly.
A stick ages too. You are bolting current software onto ten-year-old hardware. The stick will need replacing in its own right in a few years, and the television underneath is no younger for it.
When replacing the television is the better call
Panasonic’s list runs from budget sets to the 2016 flagship, so blanket advice would be wrong in both directions. Find your model:
Entry-level HD sets: DS400B, D500B / DS500B. These are 1080p or HD Ready panels with no 4K and no HDR. If you are going to purchase a stick to prolong a ten-year-old HD set, it is worth at least looking at other options.
Mid-range 4K sets: CX680B, CX700B / CR730B, DX600B, DX650B, DX680B, DX700B. These were decent 4K televisions with limited or no HDR. A stick is reasonable here. So is upgrading especially if the picture has dulled or you want HDR that actually works.
Premium sets: DX750B, CX802B / CR852B, DX802B / DR852B, DX902B. The DX902B in particular was Ultra HD Premium certified with 512-zone full-array local dimming, and it is still a very good television.
Beyond the model tier, four things genuinely favour replacing:
The smart platform underneath is abandoned. These sets run Firefox OS, which Mozilla discontinued years ago. Every app on the television is running on an operating system nobody maintains. iPlayer is the one going in October; it will not be the last. That is the real argument, and it applies whatever the picture looks like.
Running costs. Televisions of this generation draw considerably more power than current sets of the same size. Reviewers at the time called the DX902B one of the most energy-hungry televisions they had tested on a watt-per-square-inch basis.
Parts. Panasonic supports parts for a limited period after a model is discontinued. On sets of this age, a failed panel or power board increasingly means the repair is not economic. Our service department can tell you where a specific model stands.
Freely. Current Panasonic televisions have Freely built in, which delivers live channels over broadband without an aerial or dish. The Government has begun consulting on eventually switching off Freeview and Freesat, though traditional broadcast is legally guaranteed until at least 2034, so this is a decade-scale consideration rather than an urgent one. Worth knowing about; not worth panicking over.
There is one more thing worth weighing, given what this article is about. A TV bought in 2016 got roughly ten years before the apps were withdrawn, and no cover for most of that. Televisions we sell carry a five-year warranty (exclusions apply) and delivery is free within ten miles of Bath. If you do replace, we take the old set away for WEEE recycling and set the new one up, so you are not left with a box of cables and three remotes.
What we would actually say if you rang us
Bring us the model number, or ring it through. If it is a DX902B we may recommend that you simply buy a stick and enjoy the television for another five years. If it is a 32-inch DS400B from 2016 we will be honest that the money may be better spent on a new TV. Most people fall between the two, and that is a five-minute conversation rather than a sales pitch.
Do I still need a TV Licence?
Yes, if you watch or record live television on any channel, or use BBC iPlayer at all. Losing the app on one device changes nothing. If you watch iPlayer on a streaming stick, a tablet or a laptop instead, the licence requirement is the same.
Frequently asked questions
Will a software update fix it? No. The decision sits with the BBC and concerns device certification, not the version of Panasonic’s firmware.
Can I install the iPlayer app from somewhere else? No. These televisions have no open app store, the BBC blocks sideloaded versions.
My model is not on the list. Am I safe? For this round, yes. the BBC reviews certification continually and sets from 2014 to 2016 have already lost other apps.
Does this affect my Panasonic Blu-ray or DVD recorder? Panasonic’s notice covers televisions only.
Can I still watch normal TV? Yes. Live channels through your aerial or dish are unaffected, as is the standard programme guide. This is about on-demand apps.
Is this because my TV is too old? Age is the symptom rather than the cause. What matters is whether the BBC has certified the device against current requirements. Some powerful hardware has lost iPlayer while older, simpler devices have kept it.
Is my ten-year-old Panasonic worth anything in trade? Realistically, very little. What we do is take it away and recycle it properly under WEEE when a new set is delivered.
Can you just come and sort it out? Yes. We cover Bath and the surrounding area for installation and setup, including getting a streaming device working properly with an existing television rather than leaving you with two remotes.
Need a hand? Moss of Bath has been selling, installing and repairing televisions in Bath since 1962, with our own service department and installation teams covering Bath and the surrounding area. Bring us your model number and we will tell you honestly whether you need a stick or a new television.
Call 01225 331 441, get in touch, or come into the showroom at 45 St James’ Parade, Bath BA1 1UQ. Televisions we sell carry a five-year (exclusions apply) warranty and free delivery within ten miles.
