Google TV this week marked the commercial launch of its Google TV Streamer device, alongside new features that extend across the Google TV and Android TV ecosystem.
StreamTV Insider previously covered features and details of the Google TV Streamer – which replaces external Chromecast dongles and also serves as a smart home hub – when the product was first announced in August. Read more on that for details about genAI-powered screensavers, content enhancements and home hub capabilities, with perspective from Google TV VP & GM Shalini Govit-Pai, here.
Now the device, priced around $100, is available at retailers.
Two notable updates announced coinciding with the launch and available to U.S. users include a new aggregated sports experience and a rebrand of Google TV’s 150 built-in free ad-supported streaming TV (or FAST) channels to Google TV Freeplay. Those FAST channels offer a collection of live sports, full-length TV shows and movies, as well as different ad formats like non-skippable and 6-second bumper ads.
Google, like many TVOS players, offers a lineup of free linear ad-supported streaming channels that don’t require a sign up or subscription. However, before Google TV had a mix of third-party FAST content and services (from providers like Paramount’s Pluto TV, Fox’s Tubi, Plex and others) as well as its built-in Google TV channels that didn’t have distinct branding – all of which lived together under a ‘Live TV’ tab within the OS home screen when launched in April 2023.
Now it looks to be elevating its own collection of built-in FAST channels (previously just shown as Google TV) with the distinct branding, as well as an app icon that launches a new channel guide and appears in the home screen row next to major SVOD, standalone FAST and other streaming apps. It’s worth noting that Google TV’s built-in channels are powered with tech and content by Xumo Enterprise – the enterprise division of the Comcast and Charter Xumo joint venture, which has its own standalone FAST service and device efforts and has also powered built-in FAST channels for TCL.
To be clear, content from other FAST providers, like Pluto and Tubi are not included in Google TV Freeplay, which encompasses the 150 native FAST channels only (side note, that channel count is up from the 125 it had in June. And this reporter’s personal experience with a Google TV Streamer test device provided courtesy of Google, the Freeplay lineup showed 157 built-in channels). Content and channels from third-party free ad-supported services and apps are still available on the Google TV platform and remain accessible under the ‘Live’ tab.
The built-in FAST channels also have an updated programming guide on the Google TV Streamer. It’s meant to help viewers more easily navigate Freeplay channels, including new additions like Heartland and The FBI Files, by enabling users to browse by genre and topic. A Google spokesperson confirmed to StreamTV Insider that Google Freeplay branding and channel expansion will also be available on Android TV, but the updated programming guide won’t.
In a Lowpass newsletter Thursday, Janko Roettgers reported Google TV’s Govit-Pai as saying the linear FAST channels, which tend to provide a more traditional TV versus on-demand experience, have seen a lot of momentum on the platform.
Govit-Pai told Roettgers there’s “huge demand for appointment-based viewing” and added “we thought that that was gone, but it’s still very, very strong.”
Giving the built-in Google TV FAST experience branding and more prominence on the device home screen may not only elevate the channels for viewers but also help on the advertising front. In June, Google TV introduced new advertising options for its FAST offering, enabling brands to add Google TV to their in-stream media buy through an opt-in.
Additionally, Google TV introduced a Sports page feature under its ‘For You’ tab, aggregating sports content available on the platform in one place and giving users information and links on where to access. On the Sports page, users can find live and upcoming games, access sports commentary, and get personalized recommendations. It also gives a spotlight to sports highlights that are available on Google’s YouTube app. Google’s YouTube recently announced a major overhaul to its own app for CTV as it continues to compete and capture the leading share of monthly streaming TV time in the U.S., per Nielsen’s The Gauge.
In browsing on a test device provided to StreamTV Insider, the Google TV Streamer Sports page showed a variety of recommendations at the top, many from freely available services – spanning MLB on Tubi, game highlights on YouTube, and free streaming channels on Pluto TV like the NFL Channel and PGA Tour. A ribbon row showcased free live sports available, for example boxing, pay-per-view wrestling, and poker tournaments available via Freeplay. There’s also a ribbon for selected live and upcoming games. Where, for example, if one wanted to see the upcoming Baltimore Orioles vs New York Yankees game, clicking into the tile showed the game is available through the MLB app and includes a prompt to install, as well as other ways to watch, such as signing up for a Sling TV subscription. Again, here is another place that Google takes the opportunity to surface YouTube content within the TVOS interface, with related highlights and content available from YouTube showcased on the same page, below the live game details.
Easing the issue of sports fragmentation for consumers is on the minds of other streaming platform players too. TVOS competitors Vizio and Roku in recent months have each launched respective sports hub experiences that aim to simplify finding what sporting events are on and where to find them.
As Google TV vies for share in a competitive, and increasingly crowded, TVOS space it boasted a new stat, disclosing 270 million monthly active Google TV and other Android TV OS devices.
Editor's note: Google provided StreamTV Insider with a courtesy Google TV Streamer test device.