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The future for Freeview TV

Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Tim FitzGerald

The UK Government has published a Green Paper outlining options for the future of DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television), aka Freeview.

  • The preferred option is to close Freeview at the end of 2034
  • Another option is to close Freeview by the end of 2044

Satellite broadcast TV is due to close, with a similar timescale. Click Here

The future of TV distribution is IPTV – via the internet. Just like iPlayer, YouTube, Netflix, Freely, etc.

The challenge is that affordable and reliable internet service is not available to every household, yet. The number of households watching Freeview is expected to shrink, but the cost of providing the Freeview service does not shrink.

What does this mean to you?
If you are planning purchases of TV sets or TV equipment, you might adapt your purchases to accommodate the planning by government and TV providers. The sight of TV antennas on almost every chimney will be consigned to history. The wall-wok will go the same way.

A Quick Catch-Up

Freeview is the popular service that brings BBC One, ITV, Channel 4, 5 and dozens of other channels into your home through your TV aerial, with no monthly bill beyond the TV Licence. Freesat does the same job through a satellite dish.

The replacement that has been built to take over from both is Freely, run by Everyone TV – the same organisation that’s behind Freeview and Freesat.

Instead of an aerial or a dish, Freely delivers live channels and catch-up over your internet connection. You can get it on a new smart TV, or add it to an older set with a standalone box, like the Manhattan Aero at £89.99 or the Netgem Pleio at £99.

See here – https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/government-when-it-wants-freeview-gone/

or here – https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/freeview-could-dodge-axe-arqiva

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