After 18 months of waiting, the standalone Freely box everyone’s been asking for finally launched this morning – and it’s brought a streaming-only approach that ditches Freeview’s aerials entirely.
The £99 Netgem Pleio (pronounced “PLAY-oh”) is available now on Amazon, as well as through ISP bundles with local providers like WightFibre, BRSK, and Connect Fibre.
But this isn’t just a simple Freely box. Netgem has thrown in 250+ cloud games with a wireless gamepad, full Android TV app support for services like Netflix and Disney+, as well as 150+ extra streaming channels – all in a tiny 40g puck that sits behind your TV.
The catch? There’s no aerial port whatsoever, and no recording. You get what’s available through Freely’s streaming lineup and nothing else, marking the clearest signal yet of where UK television is heading.
For those who’ve been waiting to try Freely without replacing their TV, this is finally it. For those hoping for a hybrid device that could top up streaming with traditional aerial-based Freeview channels – well, that’s not what you’re getting.
Here’s what the Pleio actually delivers, what it costs beyond that £99 price tag, and what it means for the future of free television in the UK.
The Long Road To A Freely Box
Freely launched in April 2024 as Everyone TV’s streaming platform designed to eventually replace traditional Freeview and Freesat.
Instead of relying on aerials or satellite dishes, it delivers live TV channels and catch-up content entirely through your broadband connection.
The platform offers a unified programme guide that brings together BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5 and around 55 other channels in one interface. You can watch live channels directly without opening any apps – they stream straight from the EPG.
But Freely also lets you scroll backwards through the TV guide to find programmes that aired days ago. When you select one, it opens in the relevant catch-up app (BBC iPlayer, ITVX, etc.) – but you’ve found it through the unified guide rather than having to remember which channel it was on and hunt through separate apps.
Since launch, Freely has suffered from one massive limitation: you could only access it by buying a brand new smart TV from select manufacturers like Hisense, Bush, Panasonic, or Amazon Fire TV sets. Got a perfectly good three-year-old telly? You were stuck.
The Pleio finally solves that problem. For £99, you can now add Freely to any TV with an HDMI port, without replacing hardware that’s working perfectly fine.
Everyone TV announced the Netgem box back in July, and now – it’s finally here.
Who Is Netgem?
For those unfamiliar with the name, Netgem is a French technology company that’s been operating in the UK streaming market for years, though mostly behind the scenes.
The company manufactures 4K streaming boxes that have traditionally been sold through partnerships with broadband providers like BRSK, TalkTalk, Community Fibre, and WightFibre. If you’ve had a TV box from one of these ISPs, there’s a good chance it was made by Netgem.
Although their Netbox Freeview Play box was technically available to purchase directly, it wasn’t widely advertised. Therefore, the Pleio marks Netgem’s first major push into the direct-to-consumer retail market in the UK.
Rather than only being available through ISP bundles, you can now buy it directly from Amazon or Netgem’s own websites – though ISP bundles remain available for those who want broadband and TV packaged together.
What You Actually Get For £99
The Pleio isn’t just a Freely box – it’s trying to be an all-in-one entertainment device that also includes Freely as one of its features.
In the box, you get the puck itself (a tiny 64mm disc that weighs just 40g), a Bluetooth remote with voice control, a wireless gamepad, and all the cables you need to get started.
The device runs Android TV 14, which means full access to the Google Play Store and all the streaming apps you’d expect – Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, NOW, and hundreds more.
On the Freely side, you get 55+ live channels including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, and around 40 others, all streamed through your broadband with no aerial required.
Picture quality is 4K UHD with HDR10 support (though, unfortunately, there are no 4K channels on Freely), and audio includes Dolby Atmos passthrough.
Connectivity is Wi-Fi 6 only – there’s no Ethernet port, which might concern some users who prefer wired connections for streaming reliability.
And then there’s the gaming. The Pleio includes access to 250+ cloud games that stream directly to your TV without downloads or installations.
It’s an unusual addition to a TV streaming device, but Netgem is clearly betting that instant gaming access will appeal to casual users who wouldn’t normally buy a console – which is why a gamepad controller is already included in the box.
The Subscription Situation
Here’s where the pricing gets a bit more complicated.
The £99 upfront cost gets you the hardware and three months of Netgem’s “PLEIO subscription,” which includes the cloud gaming library and 150+ extra FAST channels covering everything from specific shows to themed content.
After those three months, continuing access to gaming and extra channels costs £9.99 per month.
However – and this is important – Freely itself remains completely free. The core 55+ channels, the EPG, the catch-up services, and all the basic Freely functionality continues working without any subscription beyond the TV Licence.
You only pay the £9.99 if you want to keep the cloud gaming and extra channels. For customers getting the Pleio through ISP bundles, the subscription is typically included as part of the package.
The Streaming-Only Gamble
The most significant decision Netgem and Everyone TV made was ditching the aerial port entirely.
Current Freely TVs include aerial connections, allowing users to “top up” Freely’s streaming channels with traditional over-the-air Freeview broadcasts.
This hybrid approach gives you the best of both worlds – streaming for main channels, aerial for the smaller broadcasters that haven’t made the streaming transition yet.
The Pleio abandons that compromise. You get what’s available through Freely’s streaming lineup, and nothing else.
This matches the approach that Sky and Virgin Media have already taken with their Stream boxes.
Both companies have made streaming-only devices their default for new customers, with traditional satellite or cable connections now treated as legacy options that cost extra.
The Pleio is following exactly the same playbook, and the implications are clear: this is where UK television is heading, whether viewers are ready for it or not.
For households with terrible aerial reception, the streaming-only approach could be genuinely liberating. Perfect picture quality on all the main channels regardless of weather, geography, or dodgy aerial installations.
But it also means accepting a smaller channel lineup than traditional Freeview provides.
Shopping channels, niche services, and smaller broadcasters who can’t afford streaming infrastructure simply won’t exist in this world – unless they’re available through one of the FAST channel platforms.
What We’ve Learned From Testing It
I’ve spent the past week testing the Pleio, and whilst it’s not perfect, it delivers on the core promise of bringing Freely to existing TVs without needing an aerial.
The good: Setup is straightforward, the interface is responsive, and streaming quality is excellent if you’ve got decent broadband. No more pixelated pictures when it rains, no more missing channels because of dodgy aerial reception.
The Android TV integration works well, giving you Netflix and other apps alongside live TV in a way that Fire TV and Roku can’t quite match.
The gaming element is genuinely fun for casual play. There’s no replacing a proper console, but the immediacy of clicking a game and playing within seconds has real appeal – particularly for quick 20-minute sessions or entertaining visiting grandchildren.
The limitations: There’s a noticeable 3-4 second lag when changing channels, which takes some getting used to if you’re accustomed to instant aerial-based switching.
The device has three separate search functions that don’t talk to each other properly, creating confusion about where to find content. And some demanding apps like Disney+ showed occasional frame drops during 4K HDR playback.
Perhaps most significantly, the Pleio highlights Freely’s fundamental trade-offs. No recording means complete dependence on catch-up services. Fewer channels than traditional Freeview means accepting gaps in the lineup (though you get quite a few more channels with the optional subscription). And streaming-only means your TV goes dark when your broadband does.
These aren’t bugs – they’re the reality of where television is heading.
The Competition
At £99, the Pleio costs more than mainstream streaming alternatives, but offers something they can’t match.
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K at £59.99 (or less, with the current Black Friday deals) delivers a slicker overall experience with better search integration and a huge app selection. Its Live tab aggregates BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and other channels into one guide – not quite as seamless as Freely’s unified interface, but functional enough for many viewers.
Roku’s Streaming Stick Plus comes in even cheaper at £39.99, offering simplicity that’s hard to beat for anyone who finds modern streaming devices overwhelming.
The Pleio’s extra £40-60 over these devices buys you something specific: proper Freely integration with its streaming EPG and unified live/catch-up experience.
Whether that’s worth the premium depends entirely on how much you value that seamless interface versus simply jumping between apps on a cheaper stick.
The cloud gaming sweetens the deal if that appeals to you, but it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor for most buyers focused primarily on watching TV.
The Bigger Freely Box Picture
The Pleio is the first standalone Freely box to launch, but it won’t be the last.
The BBC confirmed to us earlier this year that they’re exploring a separate, “radically simplified” Freely device designed specifically for people who find modern streaming technology overwhelming.
This accessibility-focused box would offer a more traditional TV-like experience while delivering content through broadband rather than aerials.
There’s no timeline for that device yet, but it addresses a real need. The Pleio tries to be everything to everyone – Freely integration, full Android TV, cloud gaming, extra channels – which is great, but also creates complexity that some viewers simply don’t want.
Then there’s the mysterious Humax device that we spotted last month. The “Aura EZ 4K Freely Recorder” briefly appeared on retailer websites and Humax’s own support pages before being pulled, but the company confirmed to us that it exists and is “under internal testing and development.”
Unlike the streaming-only Pleio, the Humax box appears to offer a hybrid approach with both Freely streaming and an aerial port for traditional Freeview channels.
More significantly, the specifications suggest recording capability with 1,000 hours of storage and 4-channel recording.
The big unknown is whether it can record from Freely’s streaming channels, or just from traditional aerial-based Freeview.
Given how aggressively the industry has moved against recording functionality – we’ve seen BT/EE TV neuter their recording features and redirect recordings to catch-up services – streaming recording seems unlikely.
But if the Humax box does deliver recording alongside Freely, it could be the hybrid solution that some viewers still want. Traditional over-the-air recording for time-shifting and ad-skipping, combined with Freely’s streaming convenience for main channels.
We don’t know when the Humax box will launch, what it will cost, or even its final name. But its existence suggests the Freely ecosystem will eventually offer multiple devices serving different needs – streaming-only for some, hybrid recording for others, simplified accessibility for those who just want traditional TV functionality.
What This Means For Freeview’s Future
The Pleio’s launch is another milestone in traditional broadcasting’s slow decline.
The government continues pushing for an “IP switchover in the 2030s,” with research suggesting around 70% of UK homes will rely entirely on broadband for television by 2040.
Freeview and Freesat aren’t disappearing overnight, but the infrastructure supporting them receives minimal investment while streaming alternatives multiply.
Everyone TV’s own research claims Freely will become “the largest TV device platform in the UK within five years”, serving as the primary platform in 7 million homes by 2030.
That sounds impressive until you realise Freeview currently reaches around 18 million homes – the projection assumes massive decline in traditional broadcasting.
For viewers, the transition creates both opportunities and challenges. Streaming solves reception problems and offers integrated catch-up that traditional broadcasting can’t match.
But it also makes television entirely dependent on fast broadband and transforms “free” TV into something that requires ongoing internet subscriptions.
The Pleio represents a glimpse of that streaming-only future. Whether it’s a future viewers actually want right now – or one being imposed regardless – remains an open question.
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