Netgem's Pleio — the first-ever Freely-powered TV box — has added a World Cup hub, specifically so you can catch all of the action from the FIFA World Cup in one spot.
The curated avenue is meant to give you easy access to premium content through a partnership with DAZN and FIFA+. That means full match highlights, classic games from tournaments past, and proper in-depth documentaries are all just a few clicks away.
This is similar to Roku's Football Zone feature that was released to coincide with the World Cup. Amazon also released its own version for the Fire TV Stick. Sky TV has even confirmed a speed boost for its live coverage of the World Cup, removing any latency when streaming.
And tonight's game is particularly noteworthy as this is an extra World Cup knockout match for the first time after FIFA's expanded format set up a Round of 32 clash with DR Congo.
Watch the rest of the Word Cup with Netgem's Pleio from Amazon
French entertainment brand Netgem is the first brand to launch a plug-and-play box that brings Freely to any television. Connect via HDMI, and you'll be able to stream the most popular free-to-air channels, including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U, and, of course, GB News. Freely arrives packed with several features previously only found on paid-for options like Sky Stream and EE TV.
To locate the hub, you'll need to navigate to the FanZone section within the Pleio interface – no separate apps or subscriptions required.
And the team behind Pleio has added several significant features designed for you to stay engaged throughout every match.
During half-time breaks, World Cup-themed casual games will pop up in the interface to keep you entertained while you wait for the second half.
There's also a sweepstake competition where you can have a go at predicting who'll lift the trophy. Winners will receive an official national jersey.
A new feature dubbed Flag Row is coming soon, letting you tap on your country's flag to instantly pull up content specific to that nation.
Not familiar with the Freely-powered device? Dubbed "the puck" by French manufacturer Netgem, it lets you stream free-to-air channels and on-demand boxsets from UK broadcasters over a Wi-Fi connection. Freely launched in the first half of 2024, but was only available on new Smart TVs designed from the ground-up to support the software.
Netgem's diddy box let anyone add Freely to their existing setup. Freely is built by the same team as Freeview and Freesat, and is forecast to overtake both by the end of the decade.
The £99 price tag for the Pleio box includes the set-top box, remote, game controller, and a three-month trial to its premium subscription, which includes access to premium channels and cloud gaming.
Instead of a limited three-month subscription, Pleio also now comes with a 12-month subscription to premium channels and cloud gaming.
It's worth remembering that ownership of the hardware is deferred until the 12-month subscription period ends, which means you’re essentially leasing or financing it as part of the subscription. You can't sell the Pleio box after six months as a second-hand item, since you don't technically own it at that point.
Freely has a few new tricks up its sleeves when compared to watching many of the same channels on Freeview or Freesat. For example, you can restart a show that's already started with a single button press — saving you the hassle of jumping to a catch-up service to watch the beginning.
You can also browse through previously aired episodes in the same series directly from the TV Guide, bringing together on-demand catalogues available to stream and live terrestrial television in a way previously only seen from the likes of Sky Stream, Virgin TV Stream, and EE TV.
New features are being added all of the time, with the Everyone TV team behind Freely adding the ability to scroll backwards through time on the TV Guide to access content from streaming services, earlier this year. Likewise, the catch-all My List feature announced earlier last year is now available on all Freely-powered gadgets.
If that isn't enough, the Android 14-powered Pleio includes access to the Google Play Store, so you'll be able to download a wide selection of streaming apps, like Netflix, Prime Video, NOW, Disney+, YouTube, and more.
Still want more to watch? Netgem can unlock more than 150 FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) channels to your Pleio box if you subscribe to its optional monthly plan. Not only that, but the Pleio can double up as a fairly convincing console too.
There's a dedicated Bluetooth-enabled controller in the box, and you'll unlock more than 250 titles as part of that same subscription. Netgem owns a cloud gaming service, so most of the grunt happens on its servers.
However, Netgem hasn't included an aerial port on the back of the Pleio — something that isn't the case with all Freely-enabled devices available on store shelves today.
As such, if you lose your broadband connection, there's no way to continue watching free-to-air television via this Freely-powered box.
Netgem also decided not to include a hard drive, so there's no way to record shows when they air — you'll be completely reliant on the libraries of streamers like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, U, and others.