Telly is a Los Angeles-based TV set manufacturing company. The Telly television set became available to the public in 2023 and is distributed for free to users in the United States.[1][2] Telly was founded by Ilya Pozin in 2021. The TV set contains a soundbar that shows advertisements that are uninterrupted, whatever the main screen may be showing. The large amount of commercials are reported to be in place to pay for the expenses of the free product.[3]
History
Telly was founded in May 2021 by Ilya Pozin who previously co-founded Pluto TV.[4][5][6]
In May 2023, Telly initiated a waitlist and began distributing its ad-supported TVs to initial users in July.[7][8]
Telly is a TV set that includes a 55-inch primary display, and a secondary display called Smart Display, located between the main TV and a soundbar, that continuously shows ads, regardless of the main screen's content.[9][10] Smart Display also displays widgets such as sports scores, news tickers, weather updates, and stock prices.[10][11]
Telly runs on its own operating system, TellyOS, but is also compatible with other streaming devices like Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, and Apple TV.[10][13]
Telly ads are actionable, and a user can buy products or services directly from the television.[13]
Controversy
Telly has faced scrutiny over privacy issues, as the secondary screen collects data on viewing habits and interactions with ads.[14] Critics have argued that Telly's business model relies heavily on data collection, which may raise concerns about consumer privacy.[15] In response, Telly has stated that it takes user privacy seriously and that all data collected is anonymized and used solely for improving the ad experience.[16]
