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How to Access Free Channels on Your Smart TV
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What Do You Get With Free TV?
Key Takeaways
- Modern smart TVs offer free TV channels under the Live tab in the TV browser, including FAST TV with Google Assistant.
- Third-party options like Hulu, Plex, Tubi, and Roku devices also provide access to free channels.
- FAST TV channels offer a variety of content types, from comedy to documentaries, and new providers regularly join.
If you have a modern smart TV, you are likely to have access to a range of free TV channels, TV manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, LG, and TLC now offer free content as standard on their latest television sets.
How to Access Free Channels on Your Smart TV
If you have a new smart TV, its free channels are generally found under the TV browser’s Live tab. Samsung and LG have their own TV browsing platforms preinstalled, whereas other models use Google TVs’ new platform.
If you have a smart TV from before 2020, you might have access to Android TV instead. This older service provided by Google runs on a somewhat dated interface with fewer channels and functions. However, this system essentially serves as the backbone for the new Google TV, so it should continue to function normally for the foreseeable future.
Alternatively, if your smart TV is able to download apps, you can get the latest Google TV app and access the free channels that way. But how is it possible for all these services to offer free TV, you ask? Well, this is where FAST TV comes in!
FAST TV
FAST TV stands for “Free Add-Supported Television,” and it’s a collaboration between various service providers, including Google, Pluto TV, Tubi, and Hulu. The channels are broadcast on a linear daily schedule, similar to terrestrial TV, allowing viewers to tune in at specific times to watch live content. However, to watch any of the programs, you must endure around ten minutes of advertisements per hour.
Google TV has an intuitive interface and integrates Google Assistant and AI to provide targeted advertising and TV program recommendations based on your viewing habits. What’s more, with Google Assistant activated, you can use the voice command function to control smart devices in your home, such as lights, heating, and security.
Third-Party Options
If you don’t have a smart TV, there are still plenty of third-party options available. Hulu, Plex, Tubi, Pluto TV, and Google TV all have apps that can access free TV on any of your smart devices.
Other ways of accessing the free channels include using a Chromecast, which has Google TV preinstalled as standard, or using an Amazon Firestick, which has a limited selection from FAST TV and allows you to stream content from other free service providers. Alternatively, a Roku streaming device provides access to hundreds of channels of free content via FAST or through their proprietary broadcasting platform: The Roku Channel.
What Do You Get With Free TV?
Channel selections and services available differ depending on which brand of TV you buy, so if free content is a big part of your decision process, it’s worth shopping around to see which TV manufacturer has the best options. For example, TCL is rolling out Google TV on all of its latest smart televisions and promises access to over 800 free channels, whereas LG typically offers around 150.
In addition to the channels, Google TV has some useful features that might sway your decision. For example, you can download the app on your smartphone and use it as a remote for your TV if your current one isn’t compatible. You can also set up different accounts for each person in your family, which allows you to keep your content separate from your kids’, and you can add parental controls to monitor and restrict what they can watch.
Types of Channels Available
As you can imagine, with over 800 channels to choose from on some devices, there is a wide selection of topics and program types available, with new options being added all the time. Along with regional news, weather, and sports broadcasts for U.S. residents, you can expect to find documentaries from the BBC and National Geographic, comedy from LOL Network!, Funny or Die, and Comedy Central, and reruns of classic drama and action shows on NBC Universal and AMC Networks.
If you are looking for more specific types of TV shows, there are also channels devoted to cooking, motorsports, music, travel and leisure, home DIY, and finance. In addition to being able to access pay-per-view movies via Google TV, there are also some dedicated movie channels for free, such as Box Cinema and Hollywood Classic Movies.
Are the Channels Worth Watching?
While you probably think that access to all these free TV channels sounds great, it leads us to the all-important question of whether the channels are worth watching—or does the old adage “nothing good in life comes for free” ring true? Well, the answer is subjective!
FAST TV tends to focus on reruns of older shows rather than broadcasting the latest movies and episodes of the most popular shows. Unfortunately, this means that those tuning in to catch the latest airing of Bridgerton or House of the Dragon will be disappointed, as these types of shows are often only available with a paid cable or streaming service. The good news is that as FAST TV gains traction, more service providers such as HBO, Warner Bros, and Netflix are planning to contribute to the platform in the future.
All in all, if you are happy to watch reruns of classic sitcoms along with an endless supply of documentaries and reality TV shows, then Google and FAST TV should keep you entertained. On the other hand, if you are looking for your fix of the latest releases and premium content, I wouldn’t recommend canceling your cable subscription just yet.