Freely, the streaming service backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, has announced a deal with Amazon that will integrate the service into the Fire TV platform.
The service will now be available on a range of next-generation smart TVs that use the Fire TV operating system, including Amazon’s own line of Fire TV 2-Series and 4-Series smart TVs.
In addition, Freely will become the main TV guide across Amazon smart TVs and other smart TVs with Amazon Fire TV built-in.
Freely is operated by Everyone TV and allows audiences to stream live TV channels and on-demand content from all four of the UK’s public-service broadcasters on smart TVs.
It launched in April, with the goal of giving broadcasters more prominence in the era of streaming. Freely allows consumers to access broadcasters’ content without the need for a dish or aerial.
Everyone TV has previously struck deals with other smart TV makers, including Hisense, Bush, Toshiba and Panasonic, to include Freely in their operating systems.
In addition to the Amazon deal, Everyone TV has also entered into a partnership with smart TV provider TCL, which, alongside Panasonic, will bring Freely to new TVs later this autumn.
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“A deal of this kind, between a technology giant and those working in the public interest, is remarkable,” said Everyone TV CEO Jonathan Thompson. “It represents a significant development in widening the availability of Freely and therefore ensuring UK audiences can access free TV well into the future.”
Thompson added that he is “pleased Amazon sees the immense value that easy access to public-service broadcaster and other free-to-view content brings to UK audiences” and that this is the “beginning of a journey” to unite “an increasingly fragmented viewing experience”.
Amazon also runs its own free streaming service, Freevee. Its paid streaming service, Prime Video, currently averages over 19m monthly UK users in its ad-supported tier.
Emma Gilmartin, director of Fire TV Europe at Amazon, said: “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.”
