Your next TV could be completely free, but there might be a huge catch

The cost of big-screen televisions has gone way down in the past decade. 10 years ago, a 50-inch flat-screen TV would have cost well over $1,000. Now you can get a 50-inch UHD smart TV for $250 or lower.

But what if you could get a big-screen TV and it would cost absolutely nothing? That's apparently what a stealth startup company called Teevee Corporation is planning to do. According to a report from the Lowpass newsletter (via The Verge), this company is going to release this TV sometime in 2023.

You would think there would be a big catch with giving away a TV, and you would be right. According to the report, this TV would have a secondary screen that would constantly show ads. Lowpass says this second display would have the height of a standard smartphone, but would stretch across the width of the main TV screen.

The story says the second screen would also show things like the local weather, sports scores, and news headlines. The main TV would not actually be a smart television, but the company might bundle a streaming TV stick like the ones that Roku, Amazon, and others have made to turn it into a smart TV.

The report does say some of this product's details could change before it officially launches. The company does have a teaser website, which proclaims, "Before has never been so jealous of after" inside what looks like the outline of a TV screen. The name of the TV itself will reportedly be called Telly, and it has its own teaser site, with the message, "The biggest thing to happen to TV since color."

The rise of free, ad-supported streaming services like Pluto TV, Tubi, and others has made the concept of an ad-supported television set more than possible (indeed, the report says Teevee Corporation was first started by Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin). However, some details would need to be addressed, such as the company convincing potential advertisers that their content is actually being seen by the Telly owner. Hopefully, we will learn more about this startup and its ad-based TV soon.

Source: Lowpass