The Yle Areena application will stop working on some televisions in April

With certain ones with smart TV models, you won’t be able to watch the Yle Areena application. During April of next year, the Yle Areena application version will stop working, for example, on Samsung and LG smart TV models manufactured between 2013 and 2016, Sony smart TV models between 2014 and 2016, and all Grundig smart TVs.

There may therefore be a large number of citizens in Finland whose television sets will be too old to watch Yle Areena after a good four months.

“It’s not about the TV getting old, but about the device’s Yle Areena application getting old. On certain devices, it will no longer be possible to use the application after mid-April,” says Yle’s director of strategy and customer relations Marit af Björkesten.

“It’s because the performance of the devices no longer allows running the Yle Areena streaming services.”

The birch stone according to Yle Areena’s first applications were published in 2014, and they were then made by Yle’s partners.

“Those applications have fallen behind in development and do not work as Areena should. Today, we develop them ourselves, so they are constantly updated and meet all requirements,” says Björkesten.

“Replacing all applications has not been possible. That’s why this change is coming now.”

So certain smart TV models are no longer able to display the Areena application with sufficient quality?

“Quality is a broad concept. First of all, it doesn’t work as it should. It is not stable and does not meet our accessibility requirements. It has lagged behind the development of the Areena application. It’s also a bit difficult for us to help if there are problems using them.”

Relief So no one is going to have to pay the Yle tax, even if Yle Areena stops working in the spring on the television they just bought?

“That tax cannot really be tied to the device. After all, Yle Areena works on a computer or mobile,” says Björkesten.

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“However, Yle Areena works on a computer or mobile.”

Yle has started informing users about outdated applications during December. Only the users who are affected by the change will receive the information. The user receives the information after logging into Yle Areena via television.

Even if your television is one of those where the application no longer works in the spring, you can still watch the Areena application on the television using an HDMI cable, because it can be connected to a computer or mobile device. The arena can also be watched on a TV screen using Chromecast or Apple Airplay.

According to Björkesten, some of the TV models will get a replacement application that will work even after next April. For example, there will be a replacement app for Panasonic smart TVs manufactured after 2018, as well as a replacement app for Vestel models and Sony smart TV models manufactured between 2017 and 2020.

The birch stone reminds that the change is also about compliance with the EU directive, more familiarly the accessibility directive. The law on the provision of digital services obliges Yle to make its online services, i.e. websites and mobile applications, compliant with accessibility requirements.

“Of course, we are sorry that such a situation has arisen, but at some point it would have arisen anyway,” says Björkesten.