What you need to know
- Google TV will have access to over 800 free channels in its Live tab.
- The platform is integrating with streaming services such as Plex, Tubi, and Haystack News.
- Users will be able to easily browse channels by category or genre, including news channels and programming in other languages.
- The new Live tab is rolling out on Google TV devices and eventually on Android TV sets.
There's been a big push for streaming content over the years, and various TV platforms have been leaning into this by granting users access to more content at no cost. Google TV's latest move integrates a few streaming services to provide viewers with tons of 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 only a couple of years after announcing it offered more than 300 channels with Pluto TV integration. Now, thanks to the integration of additional services such as Plex, Tubi, and Haystack News, as well as Google's own collection of free channels, Google TV users have a lot more 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 more frequently watched channels, you can add them to a favorites tab.
In addition to the new bevy of free channels, Google TV users can also access their premium subscriptions from the Live tab, including YouTube TV and Sling TV.
That said, with the increasing number of streaming services and their ever-growing cost, FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels offer an alternative for users that may not want to pay near-cable prices for on-demand streaming services. Roku devices and Fire TV sets already offer these, so it's no surprise Google wants to boost its own platform by giving users easy access to free content.
The new Live tab experience will start rolling out to Chromecast with Google TV devices as well as televisions with Google TV built-in. The experience is also coming to compatible Android TV sets/devices "later this year."
Chromecast with Google TV brings the best of Google to your streaming experience, with access to tons of apps, personalized profiles, and content recommendations based on the things you like to watch.
