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Free TV in exchange for your personal data?
(L-R) Ilya Pozin, co-founder of Pluto TV, Tom Ryan, CEO of Paramount Streaming and co-founder & CEO of Pluto TV, and Vibol Hou, chief production and technology officer at Pluto TV.
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Randy Shropshire
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Getty Images
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Topline:
As streaming prices rise and recession fears grow, the offer of a free TV set in exchange for having to watch ads presents consumers with a stark choice between convenience and privacy.
Why it matters: Advertising has reemerged as a business model in Hollywood, as free ad-supported streaming services become more prevalent and the major streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney push users to embrace versions of their services with ads. Telly, two-year-old startup from the cofounder of Pluto TV, one of the earliest free ad-based streamers, seeks to get direct access to consumers’ viewing habits with its dual-screen television.
The price of free: Telly, which CEO Ilya Pozin is a $1,000 value, is a 55-inch TV with a built-in second screen which always displays ads (as well as news and other info as well as enabling videoconferencing, games and exercise). These ads cannot be turned off. The set features cameras and sensors, not only to know what’s being watched and how many people are watching. Telly will use that data to sell more ads as well as license the data itself.
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Early days: The company has not been able to meet early demand — it claims another person joins the waitlist to get one every second — and has stated that it’s about to leave its “pilot stage.” It has already started to roll out new ad offerings where the second screen offers commerce opportunities related to an ad airing on the big screen, such as being able to order something being advertised.
For more... read the full story on The Ankler.
This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.
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