There’s a big free update coming to Amazon Fire TVs and it will make these tellies feel a little more like Sky Glass.
Sky’s smart Glass TV still leads the way when it comes to streaming telly but it’s getting more and more competition. Freely launched back in May with this online service offering instant access to popular live and on-demand channels without the need to pay any expensive subscription charges.
When it first arrived, Freely was only built into a very limited number of TVs from Chinese brand Hisense but that has been slowly growing with more and more manufacturers taking the plunge.
And the latest to confirm that they will add Freely to their screens is Amazon with the online retail giant saying new Fire TVs will soon get this streaming platform as standard.
“Freely will be available this autumn on Amazon Fire TV smart TVs and other smart TVs with Fire TV OS built-in, both online and in store,” Amazon confirmed in an update.
The change means owners of these screens will be able to watch shows from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and U (formerly UKTV) without needing an aerial. That’s because, just like Sky Glass, everything is beamed to the screen via broadband connection rather than an over-the-air signal.
Freely even allows you to pause live TV along with it featuring a full telly guide and Mini Guide so you can quickly see what’s on now and next.
There are also recommendations of things to view so you don’t have to spend hours scrolling through endless content.
Speaking about the update, Jonathan Thompson from Everyone TV (the firm behind Freely) said: “Everyone TV is delighted to be working with such an important global player in the TV market through a deal that allows us to bring Freely to Amazon Fire TVs. I am pleased Amazon sees the immense value that easy access to public service broadcaster and other free-to-view content brings to UK audiences. This is the beginning of a journey, bringing invaluable content to UK audiences and uniting what was an increasingly fragmented viewing experience.”
“We’re thrilled to be bringing Freely to Fire TV customers in the UK,” said Emma Gilmartin, Director of Fire TV Europe at Amazon. “This new deal for Freely allows us to provide even more value to our customers by giving them easy access to the best free TV shows, films and live channels from UK broadcasters, alongside the great content they already enjoy on Fire TV.”
The Fire TV operating system will provide Freely on new Amazon Fire TV smart TVs including Fire TV 2-Series and 4-Series.
