China's TCL, the second most prolific shipper of smart TVs to the U.S. next to Korea's Samsung, is getting into the FAST business.
Available to North American customers, TCLtv+ will include more than 200 free-to-consumer, ad-supported channels from suppliers including Scripps Media, Fremantle, NBCUniversal, FilmRise and Banijay.
The streaming app will also feature more than 1,500 on-demand streaming movies. (Here's TCL's press release.)
TCL said that TCLtv+ is currently available on its TVs in North America featuring the Google TV OS. It'll "soon" be available for Roku- and Amazon Fire TV-powered TCL sets, the company added.
We're not totally caught off guard by this. TCL has been steadily diversifying away from the software/content partner that helped it gain entry into the U.S. starting in 2017, Roku.
And when TCL, seemingly out of the blue, announced a content deal with Cineverse back in June, a press rep pretty much conceded to Next TV that a FAST was in development.
Most of TCL's major competitors, including Samsung, LG and Vizio, already have free ad-supported streaming services. In fact, most U.S. citizens over the age of 16 with a driver's license and pulse are now operating FASTs. Sure, exaggeration. But not by all that much.
"We are always listening to what consumers want and with TCLtv+, we're responding to their desire for more content and new experiences," said Mark Zhang, president, of TCL North America. "TCL is making entertainment look good with high-quality picture performance on our TVs and elevating the content by making it free."
Added Haohong Wang, general manager of TCL Research America: "Our award-winning smart TV lineup has continued to raise the bar for consumers seeking the very best in entertainment, pushing the boundaries of what world-class products can achieve. And now, TCL is ushering in the future of television with viewing enhancements through IDEO that makes watching content on TCLtv+ a deeper, more interactive experience."
