Google is uniting more than 800 live streaming channels — including news channels from ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox — into a new guide in the Google TV interface.
Users will be able to watch free built-in channels on Google TV without having to download an app. Altogether, it presently presents more than 800 channels and premium programming, including the expansion of free channels from Fox Corp. Tubi, Plex, and Haystack News, close by the current lineup of channels from Paramount Global’s Pluto TV. Additionally, Google TV offers international channels with programming in more than 10 languages, including Spanish, Hindi, and Japanese.
The entertainment interface that combines streaming video services (including live TV), movies, shows, and other apps is known as Google TV. It is built into smart TVs from Sony, TCL, Hisense, and Philips, as well as Google’s Chromecast streaming dongle. The new TV guide and free channels will also be available to “eligible Android TV devices” later this year, according to the company’s plans.
Google TV contends with streaming platforms like Roku, Amazon’s Fire TV, and Apple TV.
“From breaking news to blockbuster movies and everything in between, there’s something for everyone,” Google product manager Nick Staubach wrote in a blog post about Google TV’s new Live guide. “And with no subscriptions or fees, it’s never been easier to jump in and start watching.”
The Live guide organizes all of a user’s Google TV channels according to topic and genre. Customers who have access to over-the-air broadcast channels or a premium live TV subscription from YouTube TV or Dish’s Sling TV can also use the Live tab to view program listings for those services.