Google TV expands its free streaming range to over 800 live TV channels including Tubi, Plex, Haystack and more

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Google TV, the company’s smart TV operating system that powers Chromecast devices and various televisions, today receives a significant update aimed at expanding access to free streaming TV. The company announced today that Google TV will now integrate access to free streaming channels like Tubi, Plex and Haystack News directly into its redesigned Live tab, alongside its existing lineup of channels from free streamer Pluto TV. In this tab, it is also organizing its own set of more than 800 free live TV channels, including news channels from NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX and others with programming such as Westworld, Law & Order: SVU and The Walking Dead.

The company says this expansion will make Google TV the platform that offers the largest number of free TV channels within a single electronic programming guide.

FAST channels, or free ad-supported television, have seen a surge in consumer adoption in recent months, triggered in part by inflation and the channels’ relative ease of access. Unlike ad-supported video, FAST channels offer a more traditional cable TV-like experience where content is streamed live when you tune in, which could appeal to new cable cutters. Also, many FAST channel providers don’t require accounts to start watching, which makes it easy to get started.

Image credits: Google

Today, a number of services have adopted FAST channels as a means of reaching price-sensitive viewers while still generating advertising revenue for the service provider.

These types of FAST experiences can also be a selling point for smart TV platform makers, like Roku or Amazon Fire TV. For example, Roku’s popular free streaming hub, The Roku Channel, hosts over 300 free live TV channels, in addition to its 80,000+ free movies and TV shows. A TiVo survey last year ranked Roku’s hub as the most popular ad-supported streaming service, with a 21.5 percent market share among consumers. Amazon’s Fire TV, meanwhile, offers a similar experience with Freevee, a free streaming hub that also includes free live TV channels. Pluto TV, Xumo, Plex, Crackle Plus, Xperi and others have also been offering FAST content to viewers for a long time.

Additionally, YouTube began testing its FAST channel hub this year, and even Netflix has said it’s open to considering the option.

In the case of Google TV, the company will introduce a redesigned Live tab that will make it easier for users to navigate through channels without having to jump from one app to another. Here, users will also be able to bookmark the channels they like for a more personalized experience and consult recommendations.

Image credits: Google

While a substantial number of free channels are now being offered, it is worth noting that Google has prioritized offering channels in a variety of different languages. The company says its new experience will include programming in more than 10 languages, including Spanish, Hindi and Japanese. The channels will offer a diverse range of content, including news, blockbusters, true crimes, classic TV reruns, cooking shows and more.

Some of the new premium content, such as “Westworld”, comes from licensing agreements. Warner Bros. Discovery struck deals this year with Roku and Tubi to license thousands of hours of its programming, which the companies then used to build free-to-air and ad-supported channels on their respective services. “Westworld”, which had been removed from HBO Max’s library, had been among the licensed content.

It appears that Google has struck a similar deal.

Image credits: Google

In addition to organizing free channels, Google says viewers who subscribe to paid services like YouTube TV or Sling TV will be able to watch those channels in the new Live tab as well. And if you use an antenna to catch over-the-air channels, those will also be pulled into this new experience.

Google says the new live TV experience will roll out starting today on all Google TV devices in the US, including Chromecast with Google TV and TVs with Google TV built-in from Sony, TCL, Hisense and Philips. The company plans to bring the new TV guide and free channels to Android TV devices later this year.

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