Waiting for Freely on your LG TV? Unfortunately, it's not good news

LG OLED G5 review — (Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)

Quick Summary

LG has confirmed that it won't be supporting the Freely service in its televisions.

Instead, the company is looking at its own solution to provide access to live broadcast services over the internet.

LG has confirmed to T3 that it won't be adding UK streaming service Freely to its televisions. The news came from an LG marketing manager in the UK while explaining new features of the webOS interface.

It has become a feature of TVs from brands like Hisense and TCL, available through platforms like Vidaa (Hisense), the new TiVo TV system, as well as Fire TV.

Freely is popular because it offers flexibility: as long as you have Wi-Fi and a plug, you can install a TV anywhere without having to worry about that pesky aerial socket. That's great for TVs in the kitchen or bedrooms, or for people living in shared accommodation.

The service offers access not only to live channels streamed over the internet, but integrates into the UK's catch-up TV services too, allowing for a seamless shift between live programming and content that you missed.

Speaking at a preview of LG's 2026 televisions, Alexander Cox, partner marketing manager at LG Electronics confirmed that LG won't be adding Freely into webOS. LG clarified that Freely "didn’t align" with the direction that they wanted to take webOS in.

While LG TVs come with a Freeview tuner – and offer free streaming content through LG Channels – adding Freely would mean using a third-party app for a core service, which doesn't fit with LG's plans.

Instead, Cox confirmed that LG was "in conversation with PSBs" (public service broadcasting) to have a direct line into webOS on LG TVs.

While the news that Freely won't come to the next LG OLED might disappoint, native support for IP streaming in webOS gives some hope for the future.

Hisense recently confirmed that it had sold over one million Freely-compatible televisions in the UK, since the platform launched, showing plenty of enthusiasm for the freedom that it offers.

Just as LG isn't planning to support Freely, Samsung doesn't support the service in its Tizen interface that it uses on its TVs either.

In recent months, we've seen the expansion of Freely from TVs to set-top boxes with the likes of the Netgem Pleio and the recent Manhattan Aero offering an easy route to accessing the service for those without a compatible television.

Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.

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