BBC JOINS FIRE TV'S 'LIVE' TAB - CAN IT RIVAL 'FREELY'?

After years of waiting, BBC channels have finally made their way to Amazon’s Fire TV “Live” tab this week.

For UK Fire TV users, this update transforms the often-overlooked Live tab into something actually worth using – especially if you’re a fan of live TV.

The addition of BBC’s channels completes the set of major UK public service broadcasters available through this feature, marking an important milestone in the Fire TV’s evolution as a comprehensive streaming platform.

So, while it still operates with some limitations, could this be Fire TV’s answer to Freeview Play and Freely – especially since neither seems to be coming to streaming sticks anytime soon?

Fire TV’s “Live” Tab Explained

Back in January 2021, Amazon launched the Fire TV’s “Live” tab in the UK as a centralised hub for streaming live TV services.

The concept made perfect sense – instead of jumping between BBC iPlayer, ITVX and all your other apps trying to find something to watch live, you’d have everything in one place, complete with thumbnails showing what’s currently on and a proper TV guide.

Sounds a lot like Freeview Play and Freely? Indeed. But, back then – only on paper (or screen).

Amazon clearly had high expectations for this feature – they even added a dedicated “Live” button to some Fire TV remote models, positioning it as a key part of the Fire TV experience.

However, while the feature had been thriving in the US for some time, the UK version launched with a limited offering – just Channel 5’s My5 app, and the now largely forgotten TVPlayer app.

Over time, ITV’s channels were added, as well as Channel 4, along with some FAST (ad-supported) streaming channels from providers such as Pluto TV and Amazon’s Freevee.

But there was one major broadcaster still missing…

What’s New: BBC Integration

This week, the Live tab has finally received the boost it needed. The addition of BBC’s channels means all of the UK’s major public service broadcasters are now represented in one place.

The full lineup of BBC channels now available includes:

• BBC One
• BBC Two
• BBC Scotland
• BBC Four
• BBC Alba
• BBC Three
• BBC CBBC
• BBC CBeebies
• BBC News
• BBC Parliament

When you open the Live tab now, you’ll see thumbnail previews of what’s currently broadcasting on some of the BBC’s channels, alongside the other major broadcasters.

It’s a much more useful feature now, giving you a quick visual overview of what’s on without having to open multiple apps.

The Guide Section Becomes Properly Useful

Perhaps even more valuable than the thumbnails is the inclusion of all BBC channels in the Fire TV’s “Guide” section, which has now evolved into something that genuinely resembles a proper EPG (Electronic Programme Guide).

The guide displays current and upcoming programming for all the supported channels, complete with programme titles and descriptions.

You can browse forward to see what’s coming up later in the day, though unlike a traditional EPG or the newer Freely platform, there’s no option to look back at past broadcasts (or directly choose future programmes to watch, even if they’re already available on-demand).

For those who prefer a more organised viewing experience, the guide offers useful filtering options.

You can choose to display only BBC channels, just ITVX content, or create a custom list of favourite channels across all providers – quite handy if you’re only interested in specific channels rather than the full lineup.

The User Experience: Varies By Broadcaster

The actual experience of selecting and watching content through the Live tab varies depending on which broadcaster you’re trying to access.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t a true integrated player – the Live tab is essentially acting as a shortcut that launches you into the respective broadcaster apps. You’re visibly jumping between BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and other apps as you select different channels (which is similar to what happens on Sky Stream).

This differs from Freely, which offers what they describe as a ‘fully integrated, seamless TV-like experience’ where viewers can browse and switch between channels without being pushed in and out of different apps. Though even on Freely, the content still ultimately comes from the same sources (BBC iPlayer’s library, ITVX, etc.) – they just present it within a unified interface.

But for the Live broadcasts, here’s how each one performs on the Firestick’s live tab:

BBC channels: Selecting a programme jumps you directly to the live channel in BBC iPlayer and begins playback immediately (as long as you’re signed in to BBC iPlayer). This is the smoothest integration of the bunch, requiring no additional input once you’ve made your selection.

ITV channels: Clicking a programme takes you to the correct programme selection within ITVX’s “Live” section of the app, though you’ll need one additional click to start streaming. It’s not quite as seamless as the BBC implementation, but it still gets you to the right place without much fuss.

Channel 4: As with the BBC channels, selecting a programme from one of Channel 4’s channels takes you straight to the correct live channel stream (just note that you need to be registered and signed in to the Channel 4 app for this to work).

Channel 5: When it works properly, it opens the relevant live channel directly and starts playing. However, at the moment, Channel 5 isn’t showing programme information at all in the guide – possibly due to the recent relaunch of the “5” streaming app.

Beyond the British PSBs, the Live tab also includes free ad-supported (FAST) channels from services like Pluto TV, Plex, Freevee and Prime Video, adding even more live content to browse.

How Does This Compare To Freely?

With this update, the Fire TV’s Live tab has taken a significant step toward offering functionality similar to Freely – the streaming-focused platform that launched in April 2024 as the intended successor to Freeview and Freesat.

For those who haven’t followed our coverage of Freely, it’s a unified streaming platform developed by Everyone TV (the same organisation behind Freeview and Freesat) that combines live TV channels with on-demand content from various UK broadcasters, all accessible without an aerial or satellite dish.

Like the Fire TV’s expanded Live tab, Freely offers a combined Electronic Programme Guide that brings together streaming channels and on-demand content in one place.

But there are some important differences between the two approaches:

Fire TV Live Tab Advantages

• Available on all Fire TV devices, including affordable streaming sticks
• No need to purchase new hardware
• Works with your existing apps and setups

Freely Advantages

• More comprehensive channel lineup (including UK TV, AMC’s channels and a few others)
• More cohesive user experience overall
• Global “My List” watchlist feature across 11 different player apps
• Ability to browse backwards as well as forwards in the guide
• Generally faster start times when launching streams
• Better integration between live and on-demand content (The Fire TV tab is – as the name implies – only there for live content that’s airing right now)

The biggest limitation of Freely remains its availability – it only works on certain 2024-2025 TV models, including some Fire TV-powered televisions, but not on standalone Fire TV devices like the popular streaming sticks or set-top boxes.

As we reported back in 2024, Amazon confirmed that Freely would be coming to Fire TV Omni QLED Series and Fire TV 2-Series sets, but explicitly stated it wouldn’t be available on existing Fire TV devices, including the Fire TV Sticks.

For the millions of Fire TV Stick users out there, this BBC integration offers a taste of what Freely provides, even if it’s not quite as comprehensive or polished.

It’s certainly better than nothing, especially if you’re not planning to purchase a new television anytime soon.

Of course, the holy grail would be if Amazon decided to stream additional Freeview channels directly (similar to what Sky Stream does, for example).

Back in 2022, Amazon VP Daniel Rausch told me this could be an interesting idea for the company – but now that Freely is here, I don’t see Amazon entering that space anytime soon, if at all.

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2025-03-15T17:28:38Z