Freesat – enjoy satellite TV with no monthly bills
Got a satellite dish? Tired of paying sky-high bills? Freesat is the answer. Over 100 channels with 36 in HD, up to 4 recordings at once – and not a penny in monthly fees.
We’re Manhattan, the UK manufacturer behind the latest generation of Freesat products. And if you’ve already got a dish on your house – maybe left over from Sky – you’re already most of the way there.
Why choose Freesat?
Freesat is the UK’s free satellite TV service – backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. You buy a box, connect it to a satellite dish, and that’s it. No subscription, no contract, no monthly bills.
Here’s what you get:
Over 100 channels, with 36 in HD. Freeview has just 9 HD channels – everything else is standard definition. On a modern TV, you notice the difference.
Reliable reception. Satellite signals come from space, not a transmitter down the road. If your dish has a clear view of the southern sky, you get a good picture. No coverage blackspots, no signal that varies by postcode.
Better picture and sound. Freesat broadcasts at higher bitrates than Freeview, so even the same channel looks better via satellite. You also get proper Dolby Digital surround sound.
Works without broadband. Live satellite TV is completely independent of your internet connection. Useful if your broadband goes down, or if you’re setting up a TV somewhere with patchy Wi-Fi.
On-demand apps with a connected box. With a Freesat box like our S4•R, you get BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, and YouTube built in. Live TV and catch-up, all in one place.
Record, pause and rewind. Watch what you want when you want, with the ability to record up to four programmes at once. Pause live TV for up to two hours – and rewind to catch anything you missed.
The trade-off: You need a satellite dish. Not every property has one, and installation has a cost if you’re starting from scratch. But if picture quality matters to you, or you’re frustrated with Freeview reception issues, Freesat is worth the dish.
Already Have a Dish?
Here’s what a lot of people don’t realise: if you’ve got a Sky dish on your house, it almost certainly works for Freesat – no modifications needed.
Sky and Freesat use the same satellites. That dish you’re paying (or used to pay) for isn’t locked to Sky. It’s just pointing at the right bit of the sky. All you need now is a Freesat box.
Connect the cables from your dish to a Freesat receiver, run the setup, and you’re good to go. Most people can do it themselves in ten minutes: no engineer visit, no additional hardware, no ongoing cost.
The only exception is if your dish has been physically damaged or badly misaligned. But here’s the simple test: if you’re getting a picture from Sky right now, you’ll get a picture from Freesat.
Discover our Freesat Boxes
Manhattan is the UK manufacturer behind the latest generation of Freesat products. We’ve brought our fourth-generation operating system – developed over a decade of making set-top boxes – to the satellite platform. We make two Freesat boxes, designed for different needs.
Manhattan S4•R
Coming April 2026 | From £219.99RRP
The S4•R is our flagship Freesat recorder — and the most capable recorder we’ve ever made.
Record up to 4 programmes at once. With a wideband or SCR satellite installation (the type used for Sky Q), you can record four channels simultaneously. With an older Sky+ style twin-cable setup, you get two recordings at once. Either way, you’re never choosing between programmes again.
The 2-hour rolling buffer. This is what sets our recorders apart. From the moment you tune to a channel, the S4•R is recording into a 2-hour buffer. Missed something? Rewind. Didn’t realise you wanted to keep it until halfway through? Hit record and capture everything from when you started watching. You genuinely never miss a moment.
Manhattan SX
Available now | £69.99
Which? Best Buy
The SX is Freesat made simple. Deliberately simple.
Plug it in, connect your dish, watch satellite TV. No apps to navigate, no recordings to manage, no menus to learn. Just live television from over 100 Freesat channels with 35+ in HD.
Quick Comparison
| S4•R | SX | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From £219.99RRP | £69.99RRP |
| Status | Coming April 2026 | Available now |
| Recording | Yes (up to 4 at once) | No |
| Pause live TV | 2 hours | No |
| Rewind live TV | Yes | No |
| On-demand apps | Yes | No |
| 4K streaming | Yes (iPlayer, YouTube) | No |
| TV Guide | Manhattan v4 (Grid, Channel, Genre) | Basic |
| HD channels | 36 | 36 |
Freesat Setup and Installation
To use Freesat, you need:
- A satellite dish pointed at the Astra 2 satellites (28.2°E)
- Cabling from the dish to your TV location
- A Freesat box
- A TV with an HDMI port
If you already have a working dish — from Sky or a previous Freesat setup — you’re ready to go. Connect your new box, run the channel scan, and start watching.
Most satellite installations use two cables from the dish to the box. A wideband LNB (common with Sky Q) gives you 4-tuner recording capability with the S4•R. An older universal LNB (Sky+ style) gives you 2 tuners. Either works — you just get more simultaneous recordings with the newer setup.
The Bottom Line
More HD. Better picture. Reliable reception. No monthly fees.
If you've already got a dish, Freesat is the obvious choice. And if you don't, it might be worth getting one.
Want recording, apps, and our most advanced features? The Manhattan S4•R launches April 2026 from £219.99.RRP Find out more >
Want simple satellite TV right now? The Manhattan SX is £69.99RRP and available today. Find out more >
Need a satellite dish installed? Read our installation guide >
Freesat FAQs
The only cost is the Freesat box itself. The Manhattan SX is £69.99. The Manhattan S4•R recorder starts at £219.99. After that, there’s no subscription — the TV is free forever. If you need a satellite dish installed, there’s an installation cost, but if you already have a dish (from Sky, for example), you’re ready to go.
Absolutely. Sky and Freesat use the same satellites, so if your dish is working and properly aligned, it will work for Freesat. Just connect a Freesat box and you’re watching — no engineer visit needed.
Over 35 HD channels, compared to just 9 on Freeview. This includes BBC One HD, BBC Two HD, ITV1 HD, Channel 4 HD, Channel 5 HD, and many more.
Freesat uses a satellite dish; Freeview uses a TV aerial. Freesat offers over 35 HD channels versus Freeview’s 9, more consistent reception, and better picture quality due to higher broadcast bitrates. Freeview is more common since most UK homes already have an aerial. We make products for both — see our Freeview range.
Yes, with a Freesat recorder like the Manhattan S4•R. You can record up to 4 programmes simultaneously with a wideband or SCR installation (the type used for Sky Q), or 2 with an older Sky+ style setup.
Not for live TV. Satellite channels work completely independently of your internet connection. You only need broadband if you want to use on-demand apps like iPlayer.
4K is available through streaming apps — BBC iPlayer and YouTube both offer 4K content on compatible boxes like the S4•R. There isn’t currently 4K satellite broadcast in the UK, but HD satellite already looks excellent.
Freesat delivers live TV via satellite dish. Freely delivers live TV via broadband — no dish or aerial needed. Freesat offers recording; Freely doesn’t. They’re different platforms for different setups. We make products for both: the S4•R and SX for Freesat, the Aero for Freely.
The S4•R is the latest generation of Freesat recorder, with support for all satellite installations (wideband, universal, SCR), up to 4 recordings, Wi-Fi and Ethernet for on-demand apps and enhanced programme information. The SX is our classic plug-and-play satellite TV box that doesn’t use the internet — just straightforward live TV.