15/05/2023
Telly, a hardware startup led by Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin, announced Monday that it’s giving away 500,000 of its new smart TVs for free. (Yes, we said free.) There’s a catch, though. Users must watch 24/7 ads while simultaneously streaming TV shows and movies.
Telly developed a dual-screen smart TV, which has a 55-inch 4K HDR screen, a built-in five-driver soundbar and a 9-inch second screen mounted underneath. This second screen is where ads appear alongside widgets, such as the weather, music playback and sports scores, among other informational widgets like stocks. The bottom panel is lit up at all times, even when content is playing.
However, since the extra screen is a lot smaller than the main screen, and the ads only take up a quarter of it, there are users who can likely train their eyes to ignore the ads altogether. For others, it may be too distracting. But hey, it’s a free TV!
Plus, the other tradeoff is agreeing to give Telly certain data. After all, the giveaway is only possible because the advertising funds the device itself.
“Telly is a revolutionary step forward for both consumers and advertisers,” Pozin, founder and CEO of Telly, said in a statement. “For too long, consumers have not been an equal part of the advertising value exchange. Companies are making billions of dollars from ads served on televisions, yet consumers have historically had to pay for both the TV and the content they watch. All of that changes today. When I co-founded Pluto TV, we created an entirely new model that offered amazing TV content to viewers for free. Now, with Telly, we are providing the actual television for free as well.”
Users can reserve their free smart TV at www.freetelly.com. Telly will ship the device this summer. Currently, Telly is only accepting reservations in the U.S.
