2023 Optik TV Free Content

[Amyj]

Need something new to watch? Want to watch for free before adding to your Optik TV lineup? Check back to this article regularly for the latest channel and content additions.

Channel Name	Channel Number	Date Range
Willow Canada	2372	Mar 30 - May 21
Discovery	701, 9701	May 4 - May 30
Animal Planet	721, 9721	May 4 - May 30
Investigation Discovery	378, 9378	May 4 - May 30
Discovery Velocity	711	May 4 - May 30
Discovery Science	702, 9702	May 4 - May 30
GAME+	924	Sept 1 - May 31
Cooking Channel	317, 9317	May 1 - May 31
ABC Spark	327, 9327	May 1 - May 31
5 Kanal	3003	Until June 28
First National	3001	Until June 28
Disney Channel	606-607, 9606-9607	June 1 - June 30
Nat Geo Wild	723, 9723	June 1 - June 30

[BobArthur]

Hi there - I'm kind of new to Telus so I was wondering if this " free preview " list gets updated monthly ???? And if so - where do I find this updated list ???  I know that channel 5 is the Free Preview channel but it seems like this page contained more free previews then the channel did.

[Amyj]

Hey Bob! This list is updated every 2 weeks and will show previous free preview channels that have expired as where channel 5 wont. Both will show active free previews 🙂 

[BobArthur]

Hi Amy - thanks for the update. 👍

[BobArthur]

Hi Amy - was the game+ channel ( #924 here in Vancouver ) on an extended free preview ???? Even though it's not part of one of my theme packs I was getting this channel ever since I switched over to Telus on April 1st. I noticed last week that I even though I could still watch this channel that I was not able to set up a recording past 12 am today. And now I see that the channel has been removed totally. I don't it listed anywhere as a free preview and your list includes free previews that started in January. 

[Amyj]

Hi  @BobArthur Game+ was on free preview from September 1 - June 19

[BobArthur]

9.5 months - now that's a FREE PREVIEW !!!!!!! 😀 Thanks for the quick response. 👍

[Amyj]

Anytime!!!!

[tnako2000]

What are the free previews for August 2022? The channel on tv doesn't show anything new and there should be some new channels on free preview. I have restarted the box as suggested before and that did NOTHING. Please update the free previews for this month (AUGUST 2022) Please.

[tnako2000]

please update the list above to include this month's free previews which have already begun.

[Amyj]

@tnako2000 List has been updated! 

[BobArthur]

Hi Amyj - just a heads up on a small mistake on the above list of free previews. You've got the channel numbers for SeriesPlus listed twice - once for SeriesPlus and once for History. 

[BobArthur]

Hi Amyj - got a couple of quick notes for you:

- the free preview channel ( channel 5 here in Vancouver ) really needs to be updated as it still shows Kanal 5 and First National and those free previews ended on August 31st plus HGTV and Showcase are still there and those free previews ended on October 31st.

- Hollywood Suite and CMT are now coming through as free previews. The press release from Hollywood Suite shows that their free preview lasts until January 5th and it looks like the CMT free preview lasts until January 3rd.

[BobArthur]

Hi Amyj - just wanted to let you know that CTV Comedy and CTV Sci-Fi are now coming through and are listed on the Free Previews channel. Not sure when these free previews will end but other cable companies have them available until January 10th. CTV Life and CTV Drama may also be available but I already subscribe to them so I can't tell if they are on a free preview.

[Amyj]

Hi @BobArthur 

Information posted on this page may have a delay as we are not provided the info in real time. We try our best to have updated as soon as possible, but please understand it may be delayed. Thanks! 

[BobArthur]

Amyj - no worries. I think you do a great job here of keeping an updated list of free previews available on Telus. I can only compare what you do to what I used to see with SHAW and they did a horrible job of keeping their Free Previews page updated ( some channels would only be listed after their free preview ended and some were never listed at all ) which is why I started a free preview thread over on their Forum page and now I do the same over here.

https://forum.telus.com/t5/Optik-TV/Current-Free-Previews/m-p/128819#M9776

[BobArthur]

Hi Amyj - I was wondering if you knew why my thread about current free previews available on Telus has been closed / locked from any further comments ????

[Just_LH]

I don't think this is correct, Showcase is free now, I think I read it was until Jan 10.

[BobArthur]

The Showcase ( channel 301 in Vancouver ) free preview is over for me.

[BobArthur]

Hi A-B - you forgot to include CTV Sci-Fi, Makeful and the Smithsonian channel as current free previews. Can you tell us when each of these 3 free previews ends. 

[A-B]

Hi @BobArthur, the chart has been updated. Going forward, you can always tune in to Channel 5 on Optik TV to see all of the free preview information, thanks!

[BobArthur]

Hi A-B - thanks for the quick update. The only info I can't get from channel 5 is the end date for each free preview so I always check back here for that information. 

[A-B]

Hey @BobArthur one thing to try is to check out the tile picture for each individual channel as they static image often shows the free preview start/end dates (as long as you don't hover the cursor over it...that causes the live feed to start playing).

Otherwise, we'll update this article as much as possible though the metadata for this isn't always available. Staying tuned to Channel 5 is your best bet.

[tnako2000]

can we get an update to the list? Movie Time (445), CottageLife (355), BBC Earth (725) are all on free preview as well as Treehouse (601), family jr (603)

[BobArthur]

Teletoon ( channels 622 and 623 ) and Documentary ( channel 731 ) are also on a free preview right now.

[tnako2000]

supposedly we're losing Smithsonian (715) tomorrow after 10AM which is weird cause were supposed to have it till April 2. I tried to pre record something after 10am on that channel and it won't let me record.

[BobArthur]

That is weird - here in Vancouver the free preview ends at midnight tonight. I am able to record the show that airs at 10 pm but cannot record the show that starts at 11 pm because with the runover it would end after midnight. I just checked channel 5 to see if the end date had been changed but it still shows April 2nd. I've only been with Telus since last April and this is the first time I've seen something like this happen.

[tnako2000]

weird. but I have had that happen before.

[BobArthur]

Hi A-B - can you give us an update about what's going on with the Smithsonian channel free preview. It's still listed on channel 5 as ending on April 2nd and it's listed above as ending on April 3rd but the free preview is no longer coming through.

[A-B]

Hey @BobArthur we can look into it. In the meantime, if there's any channel you're enjoying we recommend subscribing to it.

[A-B]

Hey @BobArthur heard back from the Optik team, Smithsonian channel free preview should be up and running.

[tnako2000]

It is

[BobArthur]

Thanks A-B. 👍

[tnako2000]

Channel 347 (OUTTV) is suppose to be on free preview, according to the list. When I go to the channel, it's black. Doesn't show what is suppose to be on. Also won't allow recording on the channel.

[tnako2000]

Magnolia Network (Formerly DIY)

311

Mar 28 - May 31

@A-BThis (ABOVE) is suppose to be on free preview and the channel is black and no recording is allowed on channel. Please fix.

[A-B]

Hi @tnako2000 the dates changed for that channel. It's now April 1 - April 30. I'll flag it to our team.

[A-B]

@tnako2000 Regarding OUT TV, the chart has been updated, it's no longer on free preview. If you're looking for a certain show, etc. I again recommend actually subscribing to the channel.

[bookgirl]

Any update on the Magnolia channel? I restarted my PVR as suggested by Telus staff and still nothing. I asked my Mum if the channel works for her and she said no.

[tnako2000]

same. Hasn't changed. Still showing black screen.

[bookgirl]

Another channel listed as free preview that isn’t showing is Lifetime. Channel 386.

Just a correction to the above post about Outtv not being free preview….i programmed it into our guide and it is showing 🙂

[A-B]

@bookgirl Hello. This channel has already been flagged to our team to look into, so hopefully it's up and running soon. If you're looking for a certain show or programming, I recommend subscribing to the channel.

[BobArthur]

Bell Media announced that the following channels will be available on a nationwide free preview ( Telus is mentioned as participating ) from May 4th to May 30th: Discovery Channel, Discovery Science, Discovery Velocity, Animal Planet and Investigation Discovery.

https://www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/press/discoverys-complete-family-of-channels-spring-into-a-nationw...

[A-B]

Hey @BobArthur I'll reach out to our Optik prime to inquire and see if we'll be airing the free previews. If you're looking for a certain show or programming, I recommend subscribing to the channel.

[tnako2000]

Discovery

701, 9701

May 4 - May 30

@A-B This channel is still showing up as a black screen and not allowing recording on this channel.

The rest of the channels that go free  preview today are working.

[A-B]

Hi @tnako2000, hopefully it'll be up at some point today as it's still quite early in the morning. If you're looking for a certain show or programming, I recommend subscribing to the channel.

[tnako2000]

channel 701, which is supposed to be on free preview is still showing a black screen

[A-B]

Hi @tnako2000 I can advise our Optik team. If there's something on Discovery that you're looking to watch, I recommend subscribing to the channel.