A free 55-inch TV sounds like a dream, right? All you have to do instead is watch some ads. I signed up because I thought I’ve been watching TV with ads for as long as I can remember, so it’s not a new concept.
What’s new about this ‘deal’ is that the free 55-inch television has an attached screen underneath where ads are shown. And the free TVs are starting to ship.
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But certainly nothing is completely free, so how about you Granted paying for a fancy 55-inch 4K TV? The answer to that question is the same as most things when we talk about the internet: you pay with your data.
We first told you about the Telly dual-screen TV during the company’s campaign in May. Telly has announced plans to deliver 500,000 free-to-air television sets by the end of 2023, with plans for millions more to come in 2024.
In the first week of the campaign, more than 250,000 customers registered for a free 4K TV — two-thirds of those registrants were millennials or from Gen Z, both harder-to-reach populations for advertisers.
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Telly announced that the TVs started shipping last week, as well as some ad partnerships with Magnite and Microsoft. The TVs will support Spotify and LiveOne for audio-streaming services.
Telly also announced that Nielsen, a data measurement company, will license Telly data to collect and analyze unique viewing information, providing valuable insights to advertisers and TV programmers.
“We are thrilled to begin delivering what is the smartest television ever to consumers,” said Ilya Pozin, CEO and founder of Telly.
“Our disruptive ad-supported business model makes 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.”
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To reserve a Telly, you must provide the company with your full name and shipping information, including a valid US phone number. Then, you must download the Telly app to confirm your account, where you must agree to their data collection terms and complete a survey to collect your desired information, which will help the company create an advertising profile about you.
Now, remember that this data collection process happens before you receive your TV.
Dallas Lawrence, Telly’s chief strategy officer, explained the process: “Almost all smart TVs today collect consumption and viewing data. The only major difference between the data we collect on consumption and viewing and what every major TV manufacturer collects today is that we ask the consumer up front to share it, and we give them a $1000+ TV for free in return.”
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That may be the process that viewers sign up for, but when do we cross the line from consent to surveillance?
Telly TVs, for example, have a built-in camera system that customers can use for video-conferencing and exercise apps, as well as games and other motion tracking software.
The inclusion of the camera system was a turnoff for me, especially considering how many people already put a cover on their laptop cameras.
However, Lawrence said the camera did not record or transmit anything to the Telly. It ships with a physical shutter that covers the camera, which the customer has to tell the TV to open, and it has a visual indicator that shows when it’s in use.
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Lawrence said this collection of features is just one example that “highlights our approach to consumer privacy and control”.
So, here’s the thing: many smart devices in our homes already collect data and sell it to data brokers – yes, I’m looking at you, Alexa.
We knowingly signed up to this process — we ‘agreed and went ahead’ without reading the fine print and passing our data to technology companies without knowing the potential implications.
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I will still try Telly TV when I get the chance. I am ready to see what happens during the process, and I will try and find out how the company handles my information.
But I also believe it’s important to consider how low-income families or viewers with limited awareness of the privacy issues the deal might raise, lured by promises of a ‘Free TV’ and used car dealers.
Watch how I go.
