Freeview plays catch-up with pay TV

Freeview General Manager Sam Irvine speaks at the launch of FreeviewPlus (L-R) Kevin Kenrick, CEO - TVNZ; Tom Cotter, CIPO - MediaWorks; Paora Maxwell, CEO - Maori Television.

Freeview is playing catch-up with pay TV and providing a one stop for demand content.

Freeview Plus was officially launched today and can be accessed by major brands and models of smart TVs or by a set top box costing around $150.

It allows consumers to easily shift between 17 linear TV channels through the Freeview app or My Freeview PVR and on demand services at Television New Zealand, MediaWorks and Maori TV.

The set-top box will be a downside to the service which gives a genuine alternative to consumers. Who wants another set top box in your lounge?

But Freeview Plus apps will be available for most new smart TVs. Freeview estimates around 400,000 TVs are sold each year and big proportion of those will be smart TVs with Freeview Plus apps which do not need a set-top box.

Some lower-end TVs will not be electronically powerful enough to provide the Freeview Plus service, and they will not have the Freeview endorsement.

The new services mark a fork in the road for free TV which needs to counter the growing number of pay services that are relentlessly fragmenting the TV audience and facing new competition from Netflix, Neon and You Tube.

Significantly it allows Freeview to become a platform for independent TV services and potentially pay TV if the three main shareholders agree to it.

Freeview channels are increasingly developing their online on demand content to act as an alternative.

Television New Zealand has led the way showing Hollywood content free first online or showing content that is exclusively online and does not screen on linear TV.

TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick said initially the focus would be on bedding down Freeview Plus.

But he could foresee the day when people would be able to see TVNZ content on Freeview Plus - either free with advertising or by paid subscription.

Maori TV CEO Paora Maxwell says FreeviewPlus is an important new platform for viewers to access New Zealand content, particularly Maori language and cultural programming.

FreeviewPlus features:

• Free to view

• Switch seamlessly between live TV and On Demand with a click of a button

• Scroll through an 8-day TV guide that displays multiple channels at the same time

• Roll back 8 days to catch up on selected shows on ONE, TV2, TV3, FOUR, Maori TV & Te Reo.

• Search across live and On Demand TV content

• Featured sections showcase selected programmes

• Browse TV and movies libraries by genre

• Set reminders and favourites

• On Demand shows and movies from TVNZ On Demand, 3Now and Maori TV On Demand

• All the FreeviewHD features