Telly begins shipping ad-supported TVs to customers

Telly has announced that its public beta programme starts today and that customers who requested one of its ad-supported TVs will start to receive them soon. If you’ve never heard of Telly, it’s a startup company that is giving free TVs to US customers with the catch that a second screen underneath the main one displays ads continuously.

According to the company’s website, Telly is the first TV that’s paid for by brands. When you register your interest on the company’s website, it asks you some questions about you and your household to optimize your ad experience. Brands then pay to show their ads in a portion of the smart screen under the main display.

Aside from letting the world know that shipments were beginning today, Telly had some other announcements to make:

• Data Licensing: Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, plans to license Telly’s data in order to collect and interpret first-of-its-kind viewership and ad effectiveness insights for both advertisers and TV programmers.
• Ad Tech Integrations: Magnite and Microsoft Advertising will join initial launch partner MNTN as preferred partners. They’ll work with Telly to unlock innovative opportunities for brands to reach and engage consumers via the company’s dual-screen television.
• Sound System: Telly’s disruptive dual-screen television has reimagined the living room experience combining numerous experiences such as voice assistants, motion tracking fitness, video games, and sound bars all into the most powerful and smartest TV ever built. Telly’s included six-driver integrated Sound by Harman Kardon sound bar surrounds the senses with incredible sound tuned by the industry leader in high-performance home audio systems.
• Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks: Get your summer sounds ready! Nothing sounds better than your favorite music, podcast, or audiobook pumping out of Telly’s incredible built-in sound bar and listeners will be able to seamlessly connect their Spotify and LiveOne accounts (or stream for free on either ad-supported service) with integrated applications.

‘We are thrilled to begin shipping what is by far the smartest television ever built to consumers,’ said Ilya Pozin, CEO and Founder, Telly.

‘The consumer and advertising community's response has been incredible. Our disruptive ad-supported business model makes the television completely free to consumers, but the most exciting thing about Telly is the technology that enables our dual-screen television to get better with every update. We can’t wait for consumers to see what a truly smart TV can do as we continue to surprise and delight Telly households for years to come.’

The plan is for the company to ship 500,000 TVs by the end of the year and millions more in 2024. The company said that it saw 250,000 households sign up in the first week and revealed that applicants generally reflected the demographic distribution of the country.

One interesting note was about Gen Z and Millennial households, who it said were becoming ‘increasingly hard to reach for advertisers with television advertising.’ With that second screen and the always-on ads, TV advertisers may be able to reach younger audiences again.

If you’re interested in reserving a TV, just go to Telly’s website and fill in the form.