More Freeview users will be blocked from ITV content next month – are you affected?

Freeview users across the UK may soon find they haven’t got as many things to watch. Last week, Express.co.uk brought you the news that some TVs will soon lose access to the popular ITV Hub and now that list of devices has just grown even bigger. In fact, from next month a total of 11 connected televisions will no longer be able to show content from this streaming service with Panasonic and Hisense screens just some of those affected.

Freeview says this upcoming incompatibility is due to ITV working to deliver improvements and upgrades to their app. Sadly, the technology required to carry out these improvements is not supported by some older models.

In a post on its website, Freeview confirmed: “From the end of September the ITV Hub app will no longer be available on some Freeview devices.’

Here is the complete list of TVs that will lose ITV Hub next month.

• Avtex (2016+)

• CVTE (2013+)

• Hisense MTK5657

• Hisense MTK5658

• TCL 6586 6 Series

• Panasonic TV 2016 D MT5810

• Panasonic TV 2015 C MT5595, Diga

• Panasonic TV 2018 F HD MT5581

• Sharp UMC MSD6486

• Sharp UMC MS6586

• Sharp UMC 6486X

It’s a big loss for anyone with these TVs in their homes with ITV Hub offering hours of content that can be viewed on demand.

To make matters worse, ITV Hub is about to be replaced by a new service called ITV X which is promising even more shows and boxsets with some being made available before they are shown on terrestrial TV. In fact, whilst ITV Hub has 4,000 hours of content the new ITVX platform is boasting that it will have around 11,000 hours more.

ITVX will be entirely free to watch via an ad-supported plan, but a paid-for package which bundles in BritBox will also be available that removes ads as well.

There’s no launch date set for ITV X but it’s expected that this new platform will go live towards the end of this year.

In a new update about the ITVX launch the broadcaster’s chief executive Carolyn McCall said: “We are on track against all the new KPIs and targets we announced earlier this year as part of the second phase of our More Than TV Strategy and we are very focussed on successfully launching ITVX, our new free ad-funded streaming service, in Q4 this year.”

If you own one of the TVs listed in this story and want access to ITV Hub you’ll need to buy a new television or watch via other devices such as your smartphone, tablet or laptop.