What you need to know
- Google TV will have access to more than 800 free channels on its Live tab.
- The platform integrates with streaming services like Plex, Tubi, and Haystack News.
- Users will be able to easily browse channels by category or genre, including news channels and programs in other languages.
- The new Live tab is rolling out to Google TV devices and eventually to Android TV devices.
There has been a huge push to streaming content over the years, and many TV platforms have tended to do so by giving users access to more content at no cost. The latest move by Google TV integrates some streaming services to provide viewers with many free channels to choose from.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Google revealed that its TV platform now has more than 800 channels accessible from its new live TV experience. This comes just two years after it was announced that it would offer over 300 channels with Pluto TV integration. Now, thanks to the integration of additional services like Plex, Tubi, and Haystack News, as well as Google’s own collection of free channels, Google TV users have plenty of content to scroll through.
Google TV users can access these channels from the Live tab, which will include an easy-to-use guide that organizes channels based on topics and genres. This includes movies, news channels, crime, and programming in more than 10 languages. And for easy access to frequently watched channels, you can add them to the Favorites tab.
In addition to the new set of free channels, Google TV users can also access their premium subscriptions from the Live tab, including YouTube TV and Sling TV.
However, with the growing number of streaming services and their ever-increasing cost, FAST (Free Ad-supported TV) channels offer an alternative to users who may not want to pay nearby cable prices for on-demand streaming services. Roku and Fire TV devices already offer these, so it’s no surprise that Google wants to bolster its platform by giving users easy access to free content.
The new Live tab experience will start appearing on Chromecast with Google TV devices as well as TVs with Google TV built-in. The experience is also coming to compatible Android TV devices/devices “later this year”.
Chromecast with Google TV
Chromecast with Google TV brings the best of Google to the streaming experience, with access to tons of apps, personal profiles, and content recommendations based on the things you like to watch.