Google TV is widely regarded as one of the best smart TV interfaces around, and now it’s getting even better – for some users – with the arrival of a new app that curates its best free TV channels.
The thinking behind the new Freeplay app in Google TV appears to be that it should make it easier for people to access Google’s FAST content, which consists of various “free, ad-supported” live channels.
9to5Google posted some images of the new app, and it seems like it’s an improvement on the Live tab, where Google’s free, ad-supported or FAST channels have always resided.
The Freeplay app means Google's FAST TV experience is more similar to apps like Pluto, Tubi, Amazon Freevee, Samsung TV Plus , LG Channels and the Roku Channel. Clicking on it will provide an extensive selection of live channels that are available to watch, organised in categories such as Recents, Popular, Drama, News, Films and so on. There’s also a Favourites section where users can save their favourite channels.
All told, Google offers more than 150 free TV channels through the Freeplay app, including CBC News, NBC News, Now, Ion, AccuWeather, Buzzr and many more.
Despite launching the app, the existing Live tab remains in place, and all of Google’s FAST channels can still be found there, alongside various live channels that come via YouTube. It’s also worth pointing out that the Freeplay app is still rolling out, so not everyone will see it yet.
9to5Google’s report also talks about some new channels being added to the mix, but strangely it didn’t say anything about what those channels are. We can’t rely on Google for an update either, as the company has not said anything officially about the Freeplay app, instead just adding it without any fanfare.
That might be because Google adds free channels to its FAST offerings all the time, with more than 14 arriving this month alone.
We should probably point out at this stage that Google TV users in most countries won’t be able to see any of the new channels. For reasons it hasn’t ever discussed, but most likely because of licensing considerations, Google TV’s FAST channels are not accessible outside of the U.S., which is why U.K. and European viewers have never seen the Live tab, and why they probably won’t see the Freeplay app either, at least not for the foreseeable future. We do hope that this might one day change.
Those outside the U.S. who want to watch free television channels and movies can still access services like Tubi, Plex and Amazon Freevee, at least.
The arrival of the Google TV Freeplay app for U.S. viewers comes ahead of the imminent launch of Google’s new streaming device, the Google TV Streamer, which is set to go on sale globally on September 24, replacing the company’s existing Chromecast devices. The Google TV Streamer has a much bigger form-factor, replacing the traditional dongle format.
All told, Google now offers more than 800 FAST channels through Google TV, with over 150 of them curated within the Freeplay app, and the rest accessible through the Live tab.
