Everyone TV – the organisation behind streaming platform Freely and the evolution of free TV in the UK – has struck a deal with Amazon Fire TV.In a significant development for the new platform, Freely will now be available on a wide range of new next-gen smart TVs which use the Fire TV operating system (OS), bringing one of the world’s biggest brands into the family of manufacturers and OS providers who have embraced the revolutionary technology Freely offers.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. Freely and Amazon coming together is a landmark deal between Britain’s home of free live and on demand television and a global leader in the entertainment and technology sectors.“It’s exciting to see the momentum behind Freely building so rapidly as we announce this breakthrough deal with Amazon Fire TV,” said Jonathan Thompson, CEO at Everyone TV. A deal of this kind, between a technology giant and those working in the public interest, is remarkable. It represents a significant development in widening the availability of Freely and therefore ensuring UK audiences can access free TV well into the future.”The Fire TV operating system will provide Freely on new Amazon Fire TV smart TVs including Fire TV 2-Series and 4-Series.Everyone TV has also entered into a partnership with smart TV provider, TCL, who will bring their new 2024 4k smart TVs with Fire TV OS and Freely to market this autumn. Panasonic smart TVs with Fire OS will also get Freely this autumn, giving viewers the opportunity to experience Freely on premium OLED TVs for the first time.“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,” added Thompsson.” 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,” declared 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.”“Panasonic recognises how much UK viewers value content from national broadcasters, so we are delighted to be able to offer Freely to customers on our range of new FY24 TVs with Fire OS,” commented Gareth Rayworth, Manging Director, Panasonic UK. “A collaboration between Panasonic, Amazon Fire TV and Freely is a great result for viewers in the UK by combining a trusted and highly regarded TV brand, a modern and intuitive operating system, with the best free live and on demand TV, all in one place.”Freely TVs are available in stores across the UK and online at retailers such as Currys, Argos, AO, Very and John Lewis.Freely is currently available on Hisense, Bush, and Toshiba and Panasonic with TiVo 2024 4K smart TVs. More smart TV, OS providers and content partners are still to be announced.Media analyst Marion Ranchet said: “This is a real win for UK broadcasters and a step in the right direction to ensuring that global players understand the unique markets they are operating in within Europe. European audiences value the content from their national broadcasters and Freely is an important collaboration for UK viewers to get easy access to that content, no matter how they choose to connect their TVs.”“The partnership with Amazon shows the true appetite from global OS providers and manufacturers to provide local audiences with the content they want to watch, and in turn make their propositions attractive in individual markets.”
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