Telly, which got a lot of attention last year when it offered to send dual-screen smart TVs to consumers for free, said it is adding new attention-getting features to its platform.
At CES 2024 in Las Vegas this week, Telly will be showing on new tech and capabilities including a voice assistant powered by ChatGPT.
Telly said that in the thousands of homes where its TVs have been set up, usage is more than twice the national average of 3.5 hours. Usage is higher because Telly sets are functioning as the primary TV in the household and for more than just watching video, Telly said.
Telly won't say how many TV sets it has distributed, but it has a waiting list of 450,000 people who have signed up to share personal data in exchange for the device.
“Consumers love Telly,“ Telly CEO and founder Ilya Pozin said. “Usage rates are far outpacing our expectations and are more than twice the national average for household living room TV-viewing time.
“Just as the iPhone’s use cases go beyond the ‘phone’ on the go, Telly consumers use the device beyond TV in the home. Zoom video calling, music, video games, voice assistant and more, are all built-in and all for free,” Pozin said.
Telly plans to make money from its free TVs by selling data and advertising.
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Automaker Kia advertised on Telly, taking advantage of the full takeover unit on its second screen. Telly delivered a 60% recall rate for Kia, 300% higher than competitive auto companies’ commercial in broadcast and streaming commercial breaks.
“Brands advertising on TV acknowledge how difficult it is to find and follow audiences in today’s fragmented environment,” Kia America VP and head of marketing Russell Wagner said. “Telly, with its unique model and innovative ad inventory, solves that problem. Kia, as an early adopter, is thrilled with our results on Telly and excited to scale with them."
To sell more advertising Telly has made deals with Google, The Trade Desk, OpenX, Nexxen and tvScientific.
It has also made an arrangement with Publicis Media Group in which the agency has agreed to scale its advertising commitments as Telly expands its distribution.
Telly is also part of GroupM’s Innovator Accelerator Program.
To improve the performance of advertising on Telly, Telly has installed an integrated browser that lets consumers go online when they see an interesting offer.
Telly has also enabled T-commerce, letting viewers easily shop on sites from Walmart to Amazon — or order a pizza — while still watching a show or a game.
Telly’s second screen also makes QR codes available to viewers longer and is seeing two times the activity as ads on standard TV sets.
“We’re transforming the biggest screen in the home into the most powerful retail channel since the internet,” Pozin said.
Telly is launching new features for consumers.
The “Hey Telly” voice assistant integrated with ChatGPT offers customizable avatars and personalities, and adapts and personalizes experiences as it learns each user’s preferences over time.
Telly also expanded its Zoom capabilities. Video conferencing on its big screen has been a hit in Telly households, the company said.
By enabling Zoom on its second screen, users can have watch parties, and share their reactions to shows, movies sports and video games with friends and family via live video chats.
