Freeview to offer Restart viewing and app, as broadcast backers invest £125m

Freeview has been guaranteed massive investment to accelerate its transition to a fully hybrid TV platform. The UK’s leading broadcast companies, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and network operator Arqiva, will invest £125 million over the next five years to build on the success of Freeview Play

Digital UK will implement the new strategy, and lead product development. The investment will enable Freeview to chase the likes of Netflix and other streaming SVoD services. New developments will include a mobile app, plus and improvements in content discoverability and navigation using voice.

The app, due later this year, will enable viewers to access live and on-demand content on a range of smartphones and tablets. Freeview Play TVs will also offers a Restart function, which allows viewers switching on mid-way through a programme to watch from the start, using catch-up.

More than three-and-a-half million Freeview Play products have been sold in the UK since its launch in 2015.

Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digital UK, said: ‘As the UK’s TV landscape becomes increasingly impacted by global players, this new commitment from our shareholders is a major boost for UK viewers. Building on this spirit of collaboration, we will not only safeguard free-to-view TV but reinvent it for a new age of viewing.’