Panasonic to be first to launch Freeview Play

Today, Panasonic has announced that its customers will be able to enjoy Freeview Play as soon as it becomes available in October 2015. For the first time, catch-up services including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, and Demand 5 will be directly available to consumers through one integrated service. As the official launch partner of Freeview Play, Panasonic can offer viewers the chance to catch up on their favourite Freeview shows quickly and easily, on a range of new VIERA TVs and other home entertainment products launching at IFA 2015.

Freeview Play combines catch-up TV and on-demand services from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 within the TV guide, alongside live television, to make watching what you want, when you want, easier than ever. Viewers will be able to search for programmes via a seven-day scroll back function in the TV guide or access on-demand programming through a dedicated app [1].

As soon as the Freeview Play service is ready to go live, owners of internet-connected VIERA models with ‘Freeview Play inside’ will receive an on-screen alert to download a firmware upgrade. This upgrade will update the TV software, making Freeview Play available from the TV guide as well as the Freeview Play home page.

Andrew Denham, MD at Panasonic UK, said: “We’re really excited about this launch because, as the Freeview Play launch partner, we can deliver a wider range of excellent programming with the best possible picture quality. September and October are big months for TV, so it is fantastic that our customers will be the first to have all these superb on-demand channels just in time in for Strictly Come Dancing and the Great British Bake Off final!”

Freeview Play will be available on Panasonic’s new 2015 line-up of VIERA TVs; specifically models CX680, CX700, CR730, CX802, and the beautiful, curved CR852. The service is already easy to use, but Panasonic has added a Freeview Play button to its remote controls, giving quick, one-touch access for ultimate convenience.

Freeview Play will not only be available on Panasonic TVs, but also on new products in its award-winning range of HDD Recorders and Blu-Ray players, launching at IFA 2015.

Guy North, Managing Director of Freeview, said: ‘We believe that Freeview Play is set to become the new normal way of watching TV. Viewers will be free to choose what they watch and when they watch it on their main set free from subscription.’

Caroline Thomson, Chair of Digital UK, said: ‘The launch of Freeview Play is a landmark moment for UK television. Our aim is to make watching the best free broadcast and catch up TV easy for everyone. It’s testament to the work of Ilse Howling, Guy North and their teams, as well as the many partners across our industry, that we are bringing Freeview Play to market with a service that makes watching your favourite TV so simple.’