Google TV, the smart TV platform from the search engine giant which is based on the Android operating system and is powering devices like Chromecast as Smart TVs, could soon get support for free TV channels.
As per the report coming from Protocol, Google is in talks with free and ad-supported streaming television providers about the possibility of adding those channels to its smart TV platform. It will have a similar feel to the traditional TV with commercial breaks.
It is being speculated that the free streaming channels could get launched on Google TV in the coming weeks or months, but the company may wait to announce the initiative with its Smart TV partners sometime early next year.
As for the usage, it’s likely that the users will be getting a dedicated live TV menu to browse through the channels. On smart TVs, the streaming channels are expected to be presented alongside over-the-air programming that can be accessed with an antenna.
What Google is trying to do isn’t something new. Smart TV platform Roku has already launched a similar platform that boasts around 10,000 TV episodes and films. It also has more than 200 free channels. Even TV makers like Samsung and LG have also integrated free streaming channels on their platforms.
Google first forayed into the free TV streaming category when it unveiled the Android TV platform in 2014. It had a live channels framework for aggregating live programming from streaming apps and over-the-air broadcasters, but it never gained much traction.
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