At the beginning of April, Google TV announced a partnership with Tubi, Haystack News, and Plex. The goal was to provide over 800 live channels totally free on the system. Now, this is starting to go live. With the move, Google TV is giving large steps toward becoming one of the largest players in the space of free ad-supported live TV streaming. Owners of Google TV devices are starting to experience these channels as spotted by the folks at 9to5Google. That means a huge amount of content is now available on Google TV, and the better it’s available for free.
Google TV users now will find a new Live tab with improvements. The section will bring over 800 live channels available for free. These channels come from the deal established with the aforementioned companies.
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“We’re also launching free built-in channels from Google TV that you can watch without even downloading or launching an app. In total, you can now browse over 800 channels and premium programming, including news channels from NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX.” Google said when this was first announced.
To enjoy the new experience, you need a Chromecast with Google TV or TVs that run the system. There are brands from Sony, TCL, Hisense, and Philips. When it comes to regular Android TV, users will also get this new update later this year on eligible devices. However, there is no word on which Android TV devices are actually eligible for this. As you may know, Google is slowly replacing Android TV with the Google TV.
If you’re going for a channel provided by another app, you will need to install those apps on your TV. Their content will appear in the guide whether you have it on your device or not. However, if you try to watch, it will require you to install the app.
Right now, the free channels offer a wide range of content. That includes movies, TV show re-runs, news, reality shows, game shows, daytime TV and etc. There is also some Spanish and International content, as well as local news.
Worth noting that the free channels are available only in the US.
