THERE’S another way Brits can get hold of a brand new free TV device after it sold out in hours on Friday.
Pleio “far exceeded expectations” when it launched as the first standalone Freely plug-in device for TVs.
The service provides access to popular Freeview channels and more using a Wi-Fi connection instead of the traditional aerial.
Freely – which is operated by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 – was first made available to new TV sets on the market.
This is the first time it’s been available as a Fire TV Stick-like plug-in for any TV of your choosing.
Amazon is the only place you can buy Pleio outright but it sold out within hours last week – and stock still remains unavailable.
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The company behind it, Netgem, is working to restock as soon as possible.
But there is another way eager telly lovers can get hold of the device sooner.
Pleio is also available through some internet service providers.
brsk, Wightfibre, and Connect Fibre are all offering as a bundle with their broadband plans.
Pleio has access to over 150 extra channels, as well as more than 250 cloud games, for a monthly subscription of £9.99 after the first three months – though this is optional.
But when obtaining PLEIO through brsk, Wightfibre, and Connect Fibre there are no subscription fees.
“While we knew the UK was ready for a modern, aerial-free TV experience, the speed at which the public embraced this new proposition took us by surprise, and we sold out of our initial allocation on Amazon in under 24 hours,” Netgem UK’s managing director Sylvain Thevenot told Cord Busters.
“We have already shipped a significant new wave of devices to replenish stock, but given the Black Friday volume, Amazon’s fulfilment centres are taking a few days to process and scan new inventory.”
To buy upfront, Pleio costs £99.
The pack comes with a dedicated controller for the games.
Other manufacturers are due to unveil their own Freely standalone boxes soon.
Get more quality TV for free
By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor
If you’re tired of paying out on several streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ then there are a growing number of free alternatives around.
While many of these alternatives have been filled with obscure content, more big names like Sky have got on board in recent years offering some quality stuff, which is largely archive but still entertaining.
As well as UKTV, Sony and 5 are among the other players getting involved.
If you haven’t already, give Pluto TV a go, it’s available on pretty much all devices.
On there you’ll find channels from MTV, with Catfish and Geordie Shore.
Some of the classics are real gems too – I found myself watching long-forgotten episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch the other day.
