Freeview is due to get some serious investment from the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Arqiva, part of the Digital UK group, that will see some big changes introduced to the connected service to turn it into a hybrid platform. 

The money will be pumped into Freeview over the next five years, with the first big change coming in the form of a mobile app. The app will act as a hub where users can watch live TV on smartphones and tablets, as well as content from all the catch-up services available through the Freeview Play platform. 

This means the Freeview app could potentially be more useful than the Sky Q app, as it will be one of the only places you can watch content from all the major catch-up services in one place. 

Other updates to the Freeview Play platform will eventually include a restart function that will let you watch a programme from the start if you happen to tune in after it's already started. This sort of functionality is already available through BBC iPlayer, and it's this link with Freeview Play that will allow the feature to be moved across. 

Freeview also plans to introduce a much-improved voice search and a better EPG that will make it easier to navigate. 

Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digital UK, said of the changes: "As the UK’s TV landscape becomes increasingly impacted by global players, this new commitment from our shareholders is a major boost for UK viewers. Building on this spirit of collaboration, we will not only safeguard free-to-view TV but reinvent it for a new age of viewing."