There are a lot of streaming services around these days, most with specific programming all their own. But what if you could watch Canadian and American TV over-the-air channels in real time, streaming all their programming for free, and not have to rely on an undependable and illegal pirate site to do it?

It's what's happening in England, with a new service called Freely. The newcomer streams the live OTA channels of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 & Channel 5, at the same time as conventional stations, and it won't cost viewers there a cent. 

It's one of the first of its kind services that I can think of, although there is a catch - Freely is only freely available to those with certain makes of Smart TVs (similar to the FAST channels CTV recently announced it's launching.) There will also be on demand shows on the service. 

It's not perfect, of course. For one thing, you'd have to be in front of your set to see it because it's not on the Internet itself. And for another, you can freeze a program mid-show if you have to answer the phone or go to the loo (this is England, after all), but only for 15 minutes at a time. 

I doubt this will ever come to Canada, if only because the Big 3 companies that own most of the OTA stations - especially Bell & Rogers - also own the streaming services, and they likely will not want to give anything they might be able to charge for away for free. (The over-the-air CBC programming can already be seen on Gem.)

I like this idea a lot, but it should be on the Internet and not restricted to owning a certain make of TV set. But the fact it exists may one day mean it could be made more widely available.

Broadcast TV Stations Are Now Streaming for Free in the U.K.; Hopefully Someday in North America