Freesat

This article is about the free-to-air satellite service from Everyone TV (formerly Digital UK). For the similarly named service from Sky UK, see Freesat from Sky.

Freesat
Company typeJoint venture
IndustrySatellite television
Founded16 May 2007; 17 years ago (2007-05-16)
HeadquartersUnited Kingdom
ProductsDirect broadcast satellite, pay television, pay-per-view
OwnerEveryone TV[1]
Websitefreesat.co.uk

Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc[2] and now owned by Everyone TV (itself owned by all of the four UK public service broadcasters, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5).[1][3] The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. Freesat offers a satellite alternative to the Freeview service on digital terrestrial television, with a broadly similar selection of channels available without subscription for users purchasing a receiver.

The service also makes use of the additional capacity available on satellite broadcasting to offer a selection of 60 (as of December 2023) high-definition channels from broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky Mix, Arirang TV, Bloomberg, Daystar, Discovery Networks, France 24, NHK, and TRT World.[4]

Freesat's main competitors are the digital terrestrial television (DTT) Freeview platform, and the free-to-air services on the IPTV and DTT YouView platform from EE TV and TalkTalk TV, the cable Virgin TV platform and the satellite Sky UK platform.

In February 2021, it was announced that, subject to regulatory approval, Freesat was to merge its operation with Digital UK (now Everyone TV), the joint venture of BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, which manages the broadcast, streaming and EPG of Freeview.[5] In July 2021, Digital UK acquired Freesat from its two shareholders, the BBC and ITV and the merger was completed.[1] In January 2023, Digital UK changed its name to Everyone TV.[6]

  1. ^ a b c BBC, ITV and Channel 4 announce the completion of Digital UK and Freesat's integration BBC Media Centre. 8 July 2021. Accessed 18 August 2021
  2. ^ "What's freesat – Free digital TV for everyone". Freesat UK. 31 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  3. ^ Channel 5 joins Digital UK Freeview. 20 December 2021. Accessed 27 December 2022
  4. ^ List of channels on Freesat (UK) TV Channel Lists. Accessed 28 April 2023
  5. ^ Freesat to be integrated into Digital UK Broadband TV News. 10 February 2021. Accessed 21 February 2021
  6. ^ Digital UK rebrands as Everyone TV and unveils new leadership team. Digital TV Europe. 26 January 2023. Accessed 31 January 2023