Google is rebranding its free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform on its Android TV-powered devices with the Google TV interface.
Starting this week, Google TV users will see the “Free TV Channels” icon on their home screen rebranded to “Freeplay,” which offers around 150 content streams powered by Xumo Enterprise.
Some Google TV devices like the Chromecast with Google TV have already received an update that includes the new name for the FAST service, while others will see the change over the next few weeks.
In addition to the Freeplay change, Google TV is also debuting content recommendations from The Roku Channel when users download and install the app from the Google Play Store. The Roku Channel offers thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows for free, as well as hundreds of linear content streams, matching those found on Roku’s own hardware.
Google is in the process of winding down sales of its Chromecast with Google TV streaming dongles in favor of a new device called the Google TV Streamer, a $100 set-top box that will hit store shelves later this month.
