Have you ever wished you could watch your favourite TV shows with a single click of your smartphone or tablet? That’s the concept behind Freeview’s new FV app for iOS and Android. It grants live streaming access to over 16 free-to-air channels, including ABC, SBS, Seven, Channel 9 and Ten. Here’s what you need to know about how Livestream works and how to set Livestream up so you can watch TV on your smartphone or tablet for free.
Freeview is Australia’s free digital television service that presents and promotes free-to-air channels and content to all Australians. Its new FV app has been billed as a “world-first” in delivering free-to-air TV to mobile devices.
The app includes live streaming from all the free-to-air networks, access to all catch-up TV, the ability to browse and search free-to-air TV content, an inbuilt TV guide and a recommendations system that works similar to Netflix. All of this is provides free, although you’ll need to watch your data consumption (which we’ll get to in a moment.)
Here are the key things you need to know to get Freeview FV working on your mobile devices:
How to download Freeview FV
The Freeview FV app is available on Apple iOS and Google Android devices. (Unfortunately, there is no Mac or Windows 10 app at present.) Head to iTunes or Google Play to get the free Freeview FV download.
Freeview FV included features
As mentioned, the Freeview FV is not just for watching live TV — it also comes with catch-up functionality and inbuilt tools to help you find the shows you want to watch. Here are all the features that come with the Freeview FV app at launch:
- Live-streaming: Get live streaming from 16 free-to-air channels.
- Catch-up TV: Access all catch up TV from all the free-to-air networks including SBS On Demand, ABC iview, PLUS7, 9Now, and tenplay.
- TV Guide: Find out what’s on free-to-air over the next 7 days with the Freeview FV TV Guide.
- Browse and Search: Browse and search all free-to-air programs. Freeview FV makes it easy to find your favourite programs and discover new ones!
- Reminders and Favourites: If there’s a program you don’t want to miss, simply SET a reminder. KEEP all your favourites listed in one place and access them with a simple press of a button.
- Recommendations: Not sure what’s on? We’ll recommend the best of what’s coming up on both live and catch up TV. It’s a great snapshot of the best of what’s on across Freeview.
What channels can I watch on Freeview FV?
Live-streaming channels available at launch include: ABC, SBS, Seven, Channel 9, TEN, ONE, ABC2/ABC KIDS, ABC ME, ABC News 24, 7TWO, 7Mate, 7Flix, Racing.com, 9Gem, 9Go! and 9Life. Freeview has promised that more live channels will be added at a later date.
The channels that are currently available are:
- ABC
- SBS
- Seven
- Channel 9
- TEN
- ONE
- ABC2/Kids
- ABC Me
- ABC News 24
- 7Two
- 7Mate
- 7flix
- Racing.com
- 9Gem
- 9Go!
- 9Life
Note that some channels require you to download their standalone apps. Thankfully, these are also free.
How much data does Freeview FV use?
There are two streaming settings: The default setting is roughly 1200kbps which translates to roughly 540mb per hour. Unless you’re on an unlimited plan, it’s probably best to stick to Wi-Fi. There’s also a Low Quality setting that uses 700kbps.
Can I watch Freeview FV through Chromecast?
Unfortunately not. For the time being, you’re still going to need an antenna connection to watch free-to-air on your TV.
Does Freeview FV work in regional areas?
Yes. If you have access to mobile data, you should be able to watch all of the supported channels. This includes channels like 7flix which are not currently shown on all regional networks.
Freview FV app not working?
You can check out Freview’s interactive troubleshooting guide for assistance.
Comments
6 responses to “Freeview FV: How To Watch TV On Your Phone Or Tablet For Free”
Why wouldn’t they just bake chromecast into the app? How hard can it possibly be?
So, I downloaded this because I wanted to watch 9Life but instead of streaming from the app itself it kept trying to force me to download the channel nine app separately. What is the point of that? And my phone is a cheapo $30 thing which can handle a whole three apps
Same. The SBS app is broken and I want to watch the last ep of “for the love of meat” but this app sends me back to the janky sbs one.
Correction: Was playing several channels (abc, 2,7,7 flix) from android Freeview app to chromecast without any issue. It shows under the video play.
My only gripe is, not working on fire tv
POS keeps saying that 3000 is not a valid Australian Post Code. Cannot enter any Postcode
Potato cam quality but better than nothing if youre stuck.
I have a TCL Tv with FreeView Plus but as I’m not in Sydney, I miss out on a lot of channels. Is there a way to trick it?