With a new update, Android TV now puts Google TV’s free channels front and center so they appear on your home screen alongside your favorite apps.
An upcoming rollout will allow Android TV users to see the same free channels available on Google TV on their home screen using a new shortcut that appears on the side of the app. With the new app, the user will be able to skip to the “Live” tab and, among other things, he will be able to access over 115 free channels that Google has built over the past year.
Google explains:
Starting today and over the next few weeks, Android TV devices in the U.S. will have a[お気に入りアプリ]A shortcut to the free channel will appear in the row. Google TV’s free channels include everything from local news to movies to sports, all without any additional downloads, payments, or subscriptions.
This is not to be confused with the way Google TV (which comes with Chromecast and newer TVs from Sony, TCL, Hisense, etc.) displays free channels. There, you might have one or two channels built into your home screen with a recommended or featured slider, but there’s no “app” to stream them.
This change only applies to Android TV on devices like the Nvidia Shield and older TVs from TCL, Hisense, and other brands. This isn’t the first time the free channel was first rolled out in May, but this will give the channel a more prominent place.
This is only visible in the ‘Discover’ layout and only visible within the US. Google says the new “Free TV Channels” app shortcut will appear in your list of favorite apps, but it’s unclear if you can remove it from the list, but at least you can choose its location. We reached out to Google to learn more about this.
The new “Free TV Channels” shortcut will roll out over the “coming weeks.”
Android TV details:
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