- Telly promised to provide 500,000 TVs, available for free. Spoiler: it hasn’t
- These smart TVs are free in exchange for a large number of ads and tracking
- Use of content recognition technology can be controversial
Way back in 2023, we reported on the launch of an unusual smart TV brand: Telly, which was going to give 500,000 people in the US a 55-inch 4K HDR smart TV for free. There was only one catch, and of course it involves advertising.
As the cliché goes, if you don’t pay for the product, you are the product. And in the case of Telly, your free-to-air TV has another screen that permanently displays ads, and it collects a lot of personal information about your viewing.
That makes it a tough sell, and it turns out the 500,000 prediction was a bit optimistic – but thousands of people have still signed up to Telly, and it reportedly makes more money from ads per users than other smart TV platforms such as Roku.
How many people watch their TV today?
According to a leaked investor presentation shared with TV industry expert Lowpass (via FlatpanelsHD ), Telly had 35,000 sets in people’s homes by November 2025 – up slightly from 28,000 in the previous fiscal quarter, but well short of the half million promised at launch – although the report said Telly ordered another 001 TV partner from its 001 Fox partner.
Telly apparently brings in an average of about $50 per user per quarter from ad revenue, which is a big jump from the $41 per year which Roku apparently brings in.
But it also suffers from several problems. Lowpass reports that 10% of Telly TVs break in transit between the warehouse and the customer, and financing the manufacture of its next tranche of 110,000 TVs will be a financial challenge.
There may also be a more serious challenge. Telly uses a feature called Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR for short, to figure out what you’re watching and tailor ads accordingly. It is far from the only company using the technology, but there are lawsuits against several manufacturers – Hisense, LG, Samsung, Sony and TCL – regarding the use of ACR and the data it generates.
It’s partly political—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the charge, argues that ACR means “surrendering your personal information to Big Tech or foreign adversaries”—but as both DJI and TikTok can attest, politics can have a big effect on tech companies’ operations in the United States.
With ACR so central to its business model, I’m sure Telly is keeping a close eye on things – because at worst, it may never come close to the original target of 500,00 units.
The best TVs for all budgets
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
