Freeview to add Spark Sport and Freeview On Demand to media player

Monday, 27 May 2019

Freeview hopes its streaming player will press the right buttons for consumers looking for a simple option to watch free-to-air and popular pay-TV apps, including Spark Sports' RWC coverage.

Getting Spark Sport, Rugby World Cup coverage and Freeview On Demand on to the big screen should become a little easier.

Freeview was very hopeful it would announce an agreement with Spark within days that would allow it to add Spark Sport to the range of apps promoted on the home page of the Freeview Android TV media player, Freeview chief executive Jason Foden said.

Freeview would also add Freeview On Demand to the device this week, which would mean people would be able to browse shows from TVNZ OnDemand, ThreeNow and Māori Television On Demand in one spot, he said.

'With live TV, Netflix, Spark Sport, YouTube and 'on-demand' – it is a really compelling device.'

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Spark spokeswoman Ellie Cross said its Spark Sport app would be available for Android TV devices 'of which Freeview is one of many, but we don't have a formal partnership in place today'.

The $139 Freeview Smart VU streaming media player currently provides a simple way for people way to watch live free-to-air television, Netflix, Lightbox and YouTube in up to '4K' resolution on their television over a home wi-fi connection.

Freeview chief executive Jason Foden says nearly 10,000 Smart VU players have been sold so far.

The matchbox-sized device and associated cables plug into an HDMI port on a TV at one end, and into a power socket at the other, and comes with its own remote control, which provides 'one button' access to Freeview, Netflix and Lightbox.

It doubles as a Chromecast device and can also be used to download and access any apps on the Android TV store, such as those provided by foreign TV stations.

One major gap is that there is no way to watch Sky's free-to-air channel, Prime, using the device.

Foden said nearly 10,000 of the media players had been sold since they were released at the start of the year.

There had been no real advertising of the devices, which are made by Dish TV, with most sales coming through 'word of mouth', he said.

But he expected Spark would start promoting the devices through its retail stores once the Spark Sport app was added.

'Our aspirations are a lot higher for the rest of this year and we will start to put some marketing investment behind it as well.'

People still need to pay subscription fees to access services such as Netflix and Lightbox through Freeview's media player, and the same would be the case for Spark Sport and the RWC.

RNZ has meanwhile released a tender for a new video delivery system capable of distributing content to a 'range of systems' including Freeview On Demand.

Head of audience strategy Stephen Smith said RNZ's goal was to make it easier to handle video on its own website and to share videos it produced with media partners, including Stuff.

Smith said the tender had nothing to do with any plans for a television channel.

The chances of RNZ receiving tens of millions of dollars in extra funding for a conventional television channel in this year's Budget appeared to recede following the resignation of former Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran last year.