Freely, the free streaming service launched by the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs), announced today that it has signed a new distribution agreement with streaming platform owner Roku, which will see Freely made available on new smart TVs powered by the Roku operating systems.
Roku started life creating plug-in devices which give access to its CTV platform, but in recent years has begun licensing its platform out to third-party smart TV manufacturers, as a means of expanding its footprint. In the UK, Roku’s operating system runs on some Sharp, JVC, METZ, and Polaroid TVs. From June, these Roku-powered models will begin using Freely as the default TV guide, meaning it will be presented as the primary means of streaming live TV.
Freely, which launched last year, essentially recreates the traditional TV interface via a streaming app. The UK’s broadcasters have offered streaming access to their regular broadcast channels for a long time now, but each through their own app. For any households reliant solely on streaming for their TV viewing, this has made browsing broadcasters’ linear channels a clunky experience, involving dipping in and out of each PSB’s app. Freely meanwhile presents and streams all of the PSBs’ main channels within one unified interface (while also offering on-demand access to content).
Since launch, it’s been steadily increasing its reach via new partnerships with smart TV makers and CTV platforms. Alongside Roku, Freely is also available on Amazon Fire, Bush, Hisense, JVC, METZ, Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, TCL, Titan OS, TiVo, Toshiba, and VIDAA.
Securing prominence in the new world of linear TV
The UK’s broadcasters are putting less and less emphasis on their traditional linear output, for example by creating some shows specifically for their on-demand platforms, and releasing more content via social platforms. Nonetheless, linear TV remains a cornerstone of their offering, and Freely represents a joint effort to ensure the format survives as more and more viewing shifts across to streaming (particularly with the potential for TV to go IP-only in the not-too-distant future).
If you’ve ever been to a TV advertising conference, you’ll have heard someone on stage mention that consumers don’t think in terms of linear TV, SVOD, BVOD etc, it’s all just TV. That may be true, but it’s also true that there’s still a divide between ‘traditional TV’, which comes through a set-top box, and streaming. Since broadcast TV channels and streaming services have different delivery mechanisms, they’ve typically sat separately within smart TV operating systems. A smart TV might, for example, let you choose between ‘live TV’, taking you to broadcast channels, or a separate window for browsing streaming content. Smart TV remotes still often include a ‘TV guide’ button, which takes you straight into a selection of live TV channels to scroll through.
Increasingly however, smart TVs are maintaining this divide, but directing users towards a selection of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels of their own choosing instead. In these environments, the UK’s broadcasters are either much less prominent, or completely absent. Freely, therefore, looks in part to be an attempt to maintain the public services broadcasters’ position as the primary means of watching linear channels in the UK.
Distribution, distribution, distribution
But distribution is key. Freely is having to negotiate with a wide range of hardware manufacturers, running an even wider range of CTV operating systems, in order to make itself available as broadly as possible and recreate the prominence broadcasters’ linear channels have traditionally enjoyed on broadcast TV. Deals like the one announced today with Roku, where Freely is presented as the default TV guide, will be particularly useful.
There are a number of factors which can make these sorts of carriage deals complicated — for example terms around data sharing and advertising sales. But for Freely, they’re particularly complicated.
As mentioned, a number of smart TVs are now promoting FAST channels as the primary means of watching linear TV channels. Often, these channels are run by the owner of the CTV operating system itself. These OS owners (which may also be the hardware manufacturers) are turning to advertising as a new, high-margin revenue stream. And FAST channels are a key part of their ad offering. Hence, it’s in the interests of these companies to promote their own channels, rather than a competing service like Freely — especially since consumers still can access live channels from the major broadcasters, it’s just more cumbersome to do so.
The Roku deal is interesting because Roku itself runs FAST channels, but clearly is happy to set Freely as the default TV guide. But with other big players, Freely is struggling to strike a deal, let alone secure prime positioning within the CTV interface. A report from Ofcom last year placed Sky Q and Entertainment OS, Google/Android TV, Samsung Tizen, and LG webOS as the biggest CTV platform operators in the UK, collectively accounting for around 60 percent of the market in terms of share of devices in active use.
Roku is a significant win for Freely, as the 7th largest CTV OS in the market according to Ofcom. But cracking the biggest players in the space remains a major challenge.
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