Telly, A Start-Up Led By Pluto TV’s Co-Founder, Offers Dual-Screen Smart TVs For Free
15.05.2023 - 11:51
/ deadline.com
Telly, a startup led by a co-founder of Pluto TV, is taking a novel tack in promoting its dual-screen smart TV sets.
After emerging from a 24-month stealth period, the company says it will offer its first 500,000 mass-produced models for free to consumers when they start shipping this summer. Ilya Pozin, founder and CEO of Telly, told Deadline in an interview that the 55-inch sets, which have 4K HDR picture quality and a built-in premium sound bar, would retail for more than $1,000.
Telly says it is bringing to market the first dual-screen smart TV. Below the main panel, a smaller screen is a conduit for sports scores, news, weather, display ads and other supplemental information. The bottom screen can also go dark, for example when a movie is playing on the bigger screen.
The free giveaway is an effort to upend the prevailing business model in streaming and have advertising more completely fund the device itself. “TVs have become a commodity,” Pozin said. “When a category becomes a commodity, what happens? It’s a race to the bottom on price. There’s very little margin to be made on the hardware.” Over time, he went on, smart TVs became “drastically under-powered. They’re the largest screen in our home, but they are as dumb as an ATM machine.” Instead of setting out to make a bargain-priced TV, Telly has targeted the higher end of the market. After the rollout of the 55-inch set, larger sizes are expected to follow.
Investors in Telly, which launched two years ago, include LightShed Partners and Vayner Media, and Ryan Reynolds-backed connected-TV ad firm MNTN has formed a partnership with the company. Principals have not said exactly how much money they have raised, though they say Telly’s post-raise valuation will be