Google TV has made itself a worthy rival of Roku as it continues to add more channels from different media content providers. The search engine giant revealed that the smart television OS has aggregated more than 800 free channels.
Google TV Adds More FAST Contents, Built-in Channels
As reported by Engadget, Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) channels from Tubi, Plex and Haystack News will now be added to Google TV's current FAST catalogue from Pluto TV. To note, FAST is the name given to linear streaming content with ad support. It is similar to the contents from traditional television broadcasting which are played at specific times of the day. FAST can be seen as an attempt to bring back the habit of surfing the channels to watch a good content, an experience that was already adopted by the streaming video platform Roku.
What made line TV streaming like Roku popular these days is that users don't have to pay for a monthly subscription. According to Slashgear, people can watch various content from different sources for free as the linear streaming service's revenue comes from the time spent watching advertisements.
With the new additions, Google TV is poised to take on Roku as the leading line TV streaming platform. As Google TV now has over 800 free channels, it has more than double the number of free channels that Roku has, which currently stays at 350 channels. Of course, it has yet to be seen if Google TV will manage to attract Roku's avid users.
Google TV appears to be all about quality as well with the number of popular TV shows to be added. Some of the new contents are Westworld, Law & Order: SVU and The Walking Dead. Users can also expect news programs from NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox. More options will be available for the international audience as the additional contents come in 10 different languages, including Spanish, Hindi and Japanese.
Related Article: Google TV Adds New Navigation Features With Recent Update
Google TV's New Updates to Roll Out in the Coming Weeks
Google TV has arranged an updated TV guide to make the channel browsing experience faster and more convenient. Users can also view live content from YouTube TV and Sling TV in the Google TV Live tab. Furthermore, users can expect "built-in channels" from Google TV that can be accessed even if the app is not yet installed or launched.
Following Google's announcement of the latest updates for Google TV, users cannot expect these updates to be available right away. The updates are set to arrive in the coming weeks. The linear TV streaming service from Google can be accessed by users with a Google TV device like Chromecast. There are also television sets from Sony, TCL, Philips and Hisense with built-in Google TV service. The tech giant has plans to extend Google TV coverage to Android TV devices towards the end of 2023.
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