PARENTS are fuming after a bunch of free kids channels mysteriously disappeared without warning this week.
A total of nine channels were yanked from Freesat, including three loved by children.
Tiny POP was already due to disappear as a linear channel from March
“Why on Earth have you removed your channels,” one mother ranted on Facebook.
“One very upset little boy who doesn’t understand we cant watch on tv anymore!”
The channels that have disappeared from Freesat are:
POP
Tiny POP
POP Max
GREAT! tv
GREAT! tv+1
GREAT! action
GREAT! movies
GREAT! romance
GREAT! romance+1
However, they’re still available on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media.
It’s not clear why the nine have gone but Freesat tweeted back to confused viewers, saying: “These channels have been removed from the Freesat platform upon request of Great TV.”
Last week, it was announced that the Tiny POP linear channel will close on all linear TV platforms and go digital only instead through apps, but the announcement didn’t include anything about Great TV’s other channels.
The Great channels are known for showing classic favourites and movies such as Murder, She Wrote, M*A*S*H and The Avengers.
Fans fear there will “no channels left” after a spate of closures in recent months, including the E! entertainment station, CITV, as well as plans to shut down CBBC and BBC Four channels making them online-only by 2025.
“Looks like Freesat will be gone totally in the next few years,” one concerned viewer wrote.
“Great! TV has magically disappeared from Freesat? No Diagnosis Murder or Sue Thomas today…” another disappointed fan said.
“#Freesat is now absolute rubbish!” a third fumed.
“There is more channel choice on Freeview.
“I bought a Freesat box last yr, as Freeview boxes were virtually impossible to buy.
“Looks like Freesat is being quickly phased out,even though it’s replacement, Freely (via broadband) is not even launched!”
Miss these channels? There’s another way you can watch
The nine Great TV channels have only disappeared from Freesat – so you’ll still find them on Freeview, Sky and Virgin Media.
Fortunately you can still access the channels on other internet-based platforms too.
If you own a Samsung smart TV there’s a free app called Samsung TV Plus where there are loads of channels, including those belonging to Great TV.
LG and Netgem devices will have it too.
As for the kids channels, these can be watched via the POP Player app on Android and iOS.
Changing times
It comes as the makers of Freeview and Freesat recently announced plans for the next generation of TV beamed into homes via the internet.
Freely is set to launch sometime from April this year built into new smart TVs.
Is Freely worth it? Expect loads more channels
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter at The Sun
Some corners of the internet believe that a free streamed TV service like Freely has been a long time coming.
Sky paved the way with Sky Glass in October 2021.
There are some advantages and disadvantages to this way of doing TV.
The biggest pro is that you can have so many more channels than Freeview. Freeview has a limited amount of space, which is why you see some of these odd channels that only air for a few hours a day instead of 24 hours.
Another win is that you’ll no longer have to worry about your aerial or satellite dish packing up, so no paying for new kit or someone to install it.
And areas that have long suffered with poor aerial signals finally have a solution too.
However, there are some potential pitfalls – what if the internet goes down? Sky Glass has a back-up aerial port on it should this happen and it looks like Freely are looking to offer a similar “hybrid” option.
Internet-based TV services don’t tend to allow you to record stuff like you can on digital and satellite either – Sky Glass keeps shows in the cloud for you, which again presents a problem if the internet is down.
And while internet speeds are getting faster and more reliable, some rural areas still suffer with poor broadband.